By David Olinger
U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman has asked the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to investigate the agency's treatment of a Denver veteran.
Coffman requested the investigation after a VA spokesman characterized the veteran, who complained about his medical care, as mentally ill.
"Flagrant violations of law used to silence and intimidate critics are becoming commonplace and accepted practice by the VA," Coffman wrote Monday in a letter to Richard Griffin, acting inspector general for the VA. "Such actions are appalling, and I believe it is time for you to take action to hold the wrongdoers accountable for their reprehensible conduct."
Last week, The Denver Post reported the story of a former Navy pilot, Michael Beckley, who alleged a nurse practitioner at the VA hospital in Denver missed his prostate cancer until it reached a potentially fatal stage.
Daniel Warvi, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, disputed several facts of Beckley's story and confided in a phone call that Beckley is being treated for what he called a severe mental illness. Warvi said he had written clearance from Beckley to discuss his medical history.
In an interview, Coffman called Warvi's disclosure an indefensible and possibly criminal leak of protected health information. "This is such a flagrant violation," he said, blaming "a culture where no one is ever disciplined or fired for their abusive behavior towards our veterans."
Coffman, R-Aurora, chairs the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
"The question that must be addressed is who authorized this and how far did this go," he said.
Warvi referred questions to the agency's Washington office, which is checking what happened in Denver and offered no immediate comment.
Beckley said he was called Saturday night by the head of the mental health unit at the VA hospital, who "wanted to know how I was doing," he said. "I told him I feel tremendously violated."
Beckley said the doctor asked what the VA could do for him. He responded that he wants a retraction for disclosing and mischaracterizing his treatment, and to "find solutions and not throw rocks at each other."
He told The Post he is being treated for a post-traumatic stress disorder and is receiving follow-up prostate cancer care from a VA doctor.