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Two years after Democratic N.M. Sen. Tom Udall called for an Office of the Inspector General investigation into the Albuquerque Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the report is out and confirms what was feared and what the Journal had reported – staff were encouraged to manipulate records and “underreport wait times” to make it seem like veterans were being seen by their doctors long before they actually were.

The scandal erupted in 2014 when a national audit identified more than 1,000 veterans in New Mexico alone who had been waiting three months or more for initial medical appointments – 21 had died while waiting to see a doctor. Journal investigative reporter Colleen Heild has followed the story from the beginning, including Saturday’s report that laid out the findings of the inspector general.

Nationally, the revelations throughout the VA system led to the resignation in May 2014 of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. Corrective action was ordered in New Mexico the next month, and improvements in wait times have been reported.

The Office of Inspector General report released Friday claims that a nurse manager and a business manager who are still working at the hospital encouraged the cover-up. Separate VA investigations “determined that no patient harm resulted from a delay of care,” including to those who died while waiting.

Udall, a Democrat and the state’s senior senator, called confirmation of the questionable scheduling practice “very troubling.”

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The IG report did not identify the two managers, but it did say their employment status is under review, as is possible disciplinary action. The fact that they are still working at the medical center seems sadly typical of a moribund federal bureaucracy protecting its own.

But the VA should remember its mission is to serve those who put their lives on hold in the service of our country. It’s not, as the director recently said, like waiting on a ride at Disneyland.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.