As the majority of the media focuses on the presidential election, the scandal at the VA rages on.
Last week, 31-year old Army veteran John Marshall died of cancer while battling for benefits from the VA. VA doctors deny his cancer is related to his service in Iraq and therefore benefits he earned have not been processed. He leaves behind a wife and two children, who have also been denied benefits.
Despite thousands of veteran deaths due to wait times, embarrassment, public shaming and an increase in funding, the VA system hasn't changed. According to a report from just one year ago wait times have increased by 50 percent.
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.
The VA also faces a budget shortfall of nearly $3 billion, the Times reported in a story posted online ahead of its Sunday editions. The agency is considering furloughs, hiring freezes and other significant moves to reduce the gap, the newspaper reported.
