Despite thousands of veterans dying while waiting for healthcare, a new Secretary, a national embarrassment and an increase in funding, according to one whistleblower the VA system is still a disaster.
"There have been changes in the VA system, unfortunately they haven't gone deep enough to improve the significant deficits that existed. The culture of retaliation, the culture of poor patient care, went back so many decades and was suppressed for long that it will take a tremendous amount of resources to improve it," Dr. Katherine Mitchell told Fox News Friday.
Mitchell also explained that the VA is having a difficult time attracting private healthcare doctors to the agency because of the culture of retaliation against those who dare to speak out against corrupt behavior at hospitals across the country.
"Right now, you risk your job only for reporting patient care deficits. You don't risk your job for retaliating against whistleblowers," she said.
According to an Associated Press report from earlier this year, VA wait times for veterans have increased by 50 percent since the scandal broke last year.
The number of veterans seeking health care but ending up on waiting lists of one month or more is 50 percent higher now than it was a year ago when a scandal over false records and long wait times wracked the Department of Veterans Affairs, The New York Times reported.