Dive Brief:
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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs wants to divert money from a fund designed to hire more doctors and give vets better access to healthcare as a way to pay for an Aurora, CO, hospital that has run more than $1 billion over budget.
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VA officials outlined their plan to tap the $5 billion fund to a congressional Committee on Veterans Affairs just weeks after the VA’s top construction official was pushed into retirement and four others were demoted or transferred once the overrun was exposed.
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The department also has proposed scrapping several cosmetic design elements and making other cuts worth $45 million.
Dive Insight:
The department has blamed the 182-bed hospital's cost overruns on its designers and is investigating their process. One VA official said the organization ignored contractors who advised the department that the building’s design would overrun the budgeted $600 million.
The U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs has scheduled a hearing on the hospital for April 22.
