How the VA Fails Veterans on Mental Health

A ProPublica analysis of 313 studies conducted by the VA’s inspector general in recent years shows repeated failures in behavioral healthcare. The breakdowns have had fatal consequences.

The problems appear to be systemic. Over and over, the hospitals and clinics in the VA’s sprawling health care network have fallen short when it comes to treating people with mental illness.

The VA is far from the only health care organization that has had difficulty filling critical behavioral health positions amid a national shortage of providers in recent years, but the VA in particular has struggled to compete for providers.