A whistleblower claims a Department of Veterans Affairs contractor that was paid millions of dollars to review Vietnam veterans' medical files ended up cheating veterans out of benefits.
In Sunday's edition of "Full Measure," host Sharyl Attkisson takes a look at QTC Medical Services. The company is owned by Lockheed Martin, and a former employee who said he was fired after sounding the alarm over misconduct thinks QTC was too focused on its own bottom line rather than veterans' health.
David Vatan's role was to review Vietnam vets' files to determine if they were eligible for additional health benefits stemming from their exposure to the Agent Orange chemical. Some of his co-workers did not take the proper time to review the files, which led to a large number of vets being denied benefits.
Vatan, who has a background in medicine, confirmed that QTC was paid $300 to $350 per file. He said that led to management setting goals as to how many files the staff could get through.
"I noticed that some of my co-workers are reviewing claim folders a lot faster than I did, and then I realize some of them do not have the necessary background to review and understand the highly complex medical records," Vatan told Attkisson. "And, much to my surprise, some of them had only high school education."
Vatan said he took his time and got through five or six files per day. Some of his co-workers, however, would plow through 50 or even 60.
"I approached the management and I was challenged, and then I approached the Lockheed Martin ethics office," said Vatan, who noted that QTC was paid roughly $50 million by the VA. "I told them I believe it's unethical, unprofessional and as a result, based on the statistics that they have released, it's unacceptable."
Vatan said Lockheed Martin concluded his "allegations were unsubstantiated." He faced harassment and retaliation afterward, and was later fired for misconduct.
"I felt that not only they're defrauding for our government, but also at the same time they're scamming and screwing our veterans," he said.
Dr. David Shulkin was confirmed as the secretary of veterans affairs this week.
"Full Measure" airs Sunday on Sinclair stations nationwide, and is streamed live on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. ET at FullMeasure.news.
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