Gov. Rick Scott railed against federal officials and vowed to sue the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs during a campaign stop in Fort Myers Thursday.
An ongoing fight between state officials and the federal government over VA hospitals in Florida has reached a breaking point. The VA is currently under scrutiny due to reports its hospitals have been keeping secret waitlists and delaying care to veterans, some of whom died while waiting to see a doctor.
Scott directed state health officials seven times to inspect federally-run veterans’ hospitals in the state. However, regulators have routinely been turned away. But, during a recent campaign stop, Scott told reporters he’s asking state health officials to sue the federal government. He said VA Secretary Eric Shinseki should also resign.
“General Shinseki needs to go,” he said. “The president needs to get engaged. Something needs to happen here. They are doing nothing to improve the quality of care for our veterans. They need to show up and start taking care of our veterans.”
Former Republican Governor Charlie Crist—who is expected to run against Scott as a Democrat this November—said in a statement that without an act of Congress, the state has no authority over those hospitals.
Crist said the lawsuit is just a campaign stunt. Crist also said the governor could expand health care in the state to those veterans. However, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera told reporters the state should not have to do that.
“Many of those vets have the opportunity to get health care needs dealt with at the VAs if the VAs were operating as they should,” Lopez-Cantera said. “So, there are opportunities for those 41,000 vets right now.”
The state plans to sue in federal court for access to the VA hospitals to establish the state’s “right to inspect and regulate health facilities in Florida.”
