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The Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014 (; ), also known as the Veterans Choice Act, is a United States public law that is intended to address the ongoing Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014. The law will expand the number of options veterans have for receiving care and grant the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs more power to fire senior executives. The Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014 began with the discovery that there was on-going systematic lying by the Veterans Health Administration about the wait times veterans experienced waiting to be seen by doctors.〔Griffin, Richard J., Acting Inspector General, ( Interim Report: Review of Patient Wait Times, Scheduling Practices, and Alleged Patient Deaths at the Phoenix Health Care System ), VA Office of Inspector General, Veterans Health Administration, Dept. of Veterans Affairs, May 28, 2014, 14-02603-178, Washington, D.C., retrieved June 7, 2014〕 By June 5, 2014, Veterans Affairs internal investigations had identified a total of 35 veterans who had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix VHA system. Another audit determined that "more than 57,000 veterans waited at least 90 days to see a doctor, while another 63,000 over the last decade never received an initial appointment." The bill was introduced into the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress under the name "Pay Our Guard and Reserve Act" as one of the October 2013 mini-continuing resolutions passed by the House during the United States federal government shutdown of 2013.〔 It became law on August 7, 2014. The law include access to healthcare at non-VA hospitals for rural veterans, as well as vast increases in staffing and facilities at existing VA medical centers. ==Background== (詳細はCNN reported on April 30, 2014 that at least 40 United States Armed Forces veterans died while waiting for care at the Phoenix, Arizona, Veterans Health Administration facilities. By June 5, 2014, Veterans Affairs internal investigations had identified a total of 35 veterans who had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix VHA system.〔 An investigation of delays in treatment throughout the Veterans Health Administration system is being conducted by the Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General,〔〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-27508745 )〕 and the House has passed legislation to fund a $1 million criminal investigation by the Justice Department. On May 16, 2014, the Veterans Health Administration's top health official, Dr. Robert Petzel, retired early at the request of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. On May 30, 2014, Secretary Shinseki, himself, resigned from office amid the fallout from the controversy.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-27640375 )〕〔Obama, Barack, President of the United States,"(Statement by the President, May 30, 2014 ), Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, retrieved June 7, 2014〕 As of early June 2014, several other VA medical centers around the nation have been identified with the same problems as the Phoenix facility, and the investigations by the VA Inspector General, the Congress and others are widening.〔〔〔 Giblin, Paul & Rebekah L. Sanders, "( VA audit: Staff falsified records to collect bonuses )," from ''The Arizona Republic '' as published in ''USA TODAY,'' May 31, 2014, as retrieved June 7, 2014〕〔Carter, Chelsea J., "(Were bonuses tied to VA wait times? Here's what we know )," Cable News Network (CNN), May 30, 2014, retrieved June 7, 2014〕〔Andrews, Wyatt, "( VA bonuses were incentive to hide wait times, whistleblowers say )," CBS News, May 13, 2014, retrieved June 7, 2014〕〔Hennessy-Fiske, Molly & Richard Simon, "(Veterans' wait times at El Paso VA are latest to come under scrutiny, )" Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2014, retrieved June 7, 2014〕〔Associated Press (AP) Indianapolis, IN, "(Coats, Donnelly demand answers on VA wait times )," WTHR News, June 4, 2014, retrieved June 7, 2014〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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