Audit of Processing of Community Care Requests for Services
VA Office of Inspector General · Report 25-03946-211 · September 24, 2026 · Office of Audits and Evaluations
What the OIG found
The OIG audited how quickly VHA decides and communicates decisions on requests for services — the requests community providers submit when a veteran needs more or different care than VA initially approved, which under the MISSION Act framework must be decided, with notice to the veteran and provider, within three business days. Reviewing nearly 2.6 million requests entered in the Consult Toolbox from October 1, 2024 through January 31, 2026, the audit found facilities met the full three-business-day decision-and-notification standard only about 17 percent of the time; roughly 45 percent were decided on time, about 46 percent had no documentation that the required notification was ever made, and notifications averaged about 12 days. The OIG attributed the shortfalls to backlogs, staff shortages, manual processes, and the multiple systems and steps involved, compounded by inconsistent oversight and data entry. The OIG issued six recommendations to strengthen oversight and improve timeliness, including expanding automation, fixing system limitations, updating national procedures, improving receipt-date accuracy, ensuring accurate notifications to providers and veterans, and instituting routine oversight of the process.
Who it concerns
Veterans Health Administration processing of community care requests for services (requests by community providers for additional services for veterans)
Why it matters to a family
For families waiting while a community provider’s request for additional care sits undecided, this audit documents the wait in national numbers: most requests were not decided and communicated within VA’s own three-business-day standard, and in nearly half there was no documentation the veteran or provider was ever notified — delays the OIG warns can delay or disrupt a veteran’s care.
The official report
The OIG’s report page · Full report (PDF)
Summary ours; the report is the OIG’s. Read it at vaoig.gov →