ALBUQUERQUE – More than 1,000 veterans have been waiting three months or more for initial medical appointments within the Veterans Affairs Department’s health-care system in New Mexico, according to the findings of an audit released Monday.
The wide-ranging audit covered hundreds of VA hospitals and clinics across the country, including the medical center in Albuquerque, where officials previously said more than 3,000 patients were assigned to a doctor who didn’t actually see them.
The audit found new patients seeking primary care within New Mexico’s VA system wait an average of 46 days, while those who need specialty care wait nearly two months. New patients seeking mental-health care wait an average of 38 days.
VA officials in Albuquerque were reviewing the audit. A spokesman had yet to comment on its findings, and it was unclear whether any veterans were put at risk by waiting.
VA hospitals and clinics in other states had new patient waits three times the average wait in New Mexico, but veterans in Albuquerque and members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation are still concerned about delays in care and the quality of care they receive.
Auditors said New Mexico is among the dozens of facilities that require further review.
Richard Cowsill of Rio Rancho, a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran with stage-four lung cancer, said he’s glad a spotlight is on the VA. He said his wife had to fight for him to receive authorization to get the treatment he needed outside the VA system after waiting weeks to see an oncologist.
“They put my life in jeopardy,” Cowsill said.
The decorated veteran did three tours in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange. He was among those who shared their stories during a town hall last weekend with U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, R-N.M., and he wants other veterans to push for care outside of the VA system.
“It’s not about me, it’s not about them. It’s about our brothers and sisters. We have to get them free from that place,” he said Monday. “We were able to pull it off and now we have a team of doctors and we feel so safe and we feel so good.”
