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 The network cited the VA's Office of Inspector General, adding
that the inspector general told a Senate committee last week there
were 10 facilities under investigation.
VA officials could not be reached for immediate comment.
The allegations that delays in treatment at veterans' hospitals
could have led to otherwise preventable deaths has sparked a growing
political scandal, including calls for the resignation of VA
Secretary Eric Shinseki.
The secretary was grilled at a Senate hearing last week where
Democrats joined Republicans to demand stronger action to fix
problems after officials at VA medical facilities in Phoenix were
accused of covering up long wait times for patients, including 40
who died while awaiting care.
Shinseki told the lawmakers he was "mad as hell" about allegations
of schemes to mask waiting times for care at VA facilities, but said
the VA would wait for its inspector general to complete its
investigation before acting on the Phoenix allegations.
A top department official, undersecretary of health Dr. Robert
Petzel, resigned on Friday in a move critics said was an effort at
damage control.
The VA has put three senior officials in Phoenix on administrative
leave after doctors there said they were ordered to hold veterans'
names for months on a secret waiting list until a spot opened up on
an official list that met the agency's two-week waiting-time goals.
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Allegations have been reported about similar cover-up schemes at VA
medical facilities in at least seven other cities. The agency runs
the largest U.S. healthcare group, overseeing some 1,700 hospitals,
clinics, nursing homes and other facilities.
(Reporting by Peter Cooney; Additional reporting by David Lawder;
Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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