A4 FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2016

Republican
presidential
candidate John ICA chief lays
blame in flap
Kasich tries
to enjoy lunch
Thursday while
surrounded by a
hoard of reporters
and supporters
at Mikes Deli ICA FROM A1 Created by state lawmakers
in the Bronx. in 2004, ICA was tasked with
unnamed general counsel of keeping Pittsburgh then
A Quinnipiac the ICA monitored the mat-
poll shows the nearly $1 billion in debt
ter and communicated with from toppling into bankruptcy.
Ohio governor the board.
would defeat A Tribune-Review investiga-
Sciortino, a Democrat, said tion revealed that 92 percent of
Hillary Clinton in the email he met with Dem- the financial records tracking
in November, ocratic and Republican leader- ICA spending between 2010
51 percent to ship in the Senate and House, and early 2016 were destroyed
35 percent, in plus every ICA board member, or missing. Between 2004 and
Pennsylvania. and answered every question 2009, only two receipts sur-
AFP/GETTY IMAGES that was posed to him. vived and ICA blacked out all
His email strayed into a se- details before providing them

GOPs Kasich outpolls Clinton in Pa.

ries of complaints, ranging
from what he contends was
the tiny size of offices rented
for him to the unwillingness
of ICA board members over the
CLINTON FROM A1 Pennsylvania is that Cruz past 11 years to use the agen-
cys email system. He blamed
to the Trib under a state Right
to Know Law request.
The Trib also reported that
Sciortino apparently failed
to file mandatory financial
disclosure forms from 2006

voters in Pennsylvania and
Ohio, according to a study
released in late January
by Working America, the
political action arm of the
AFL-CIO. Working America
conducted the study in re-
sponse to Trumps surging
popularity.
Of nearly 1,700 likely vot-
ers surveyed in working-class
neighborhoods near Pitts-
burgh and Cleveland, includ-
ing Beaver and Butler coun-
ties, 38 percent of decided
voters said they supported
Trump, the study showed.
That outpaced support for all
other Republican candidates
combined (27 percent), Clin-
ton (22 percent) and Sanders
(12 percent).
While Clinton enjoys strong
support from African-Ameri-
can voters, Sracic said, The
question for (Clinton) really
is about turnout. She cant
assume shell get the strong
turnout and overwhelming
support that Obama had from
African-American voters,
which allowed him to lose
the white vote rather badly
and still carry the state.
Clinton would tie U.S. Sen.
Ted Cruz in Pennsylvania,
according to the Quinnipiac
poll. Each candidate polled at
43 percent.
Democratic candidates
have carried Pennsylvania
in every presidential elec-
tion since 1992. Rick Tyler, an
MSNBC political analyst who
formerly served as a Cruz
spokesman, said the GOP
has not put presidential can-
didates on the ballot that have
energized the (partys) base.
The entire argument
against Cruz in a state like
doesnt appeal to the middle,
but the truth is there is not
a middle anymore, Tyler
said.
Tyler said the winning can-
didate will do the best job
of energizing their partys
base, and Cruz will be able
to electrify the (Republican)
base because finally they will
have someone conservative to
vote for.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who
finds himself in a distant third
place in the GOP race, would
defeat Clinton in November,
51 percent to 35 percent, in
Pennsylvania, the Quinnipiac
poll showed.
Ironically, in some ways,
Kasich must remind Clinton
about another governor who
ran for president her hus-
band, Sracic said. When
Bill Clinton ran in 1992, he
portrayed himself as a cen-
trist Democrat, progressive,
yet willing to break with
Democratic dogma on issues
like welfare reform.
Sracic pointed to Kasichs
State of the State address,
delivered Wednesday night
in Marietta, Ohio.
John Kasich reminded
voters that, although he is a
conservative, he supported
Medicaid expansion in Ohio,
Sracic said.
Sracic said Kasich comes
off as authentic and sponta-
neous.
The contrast between his
unscripted authenticity and
her reluctance to go off mes-
sage might not be to Secre-
tary Clintons advantage,
Sracic said.
Salena Zito and Tom Fontaine are
Tribune-Review staff writers.
BillClinton,protesterargue
the changing cast of board ap-
pointees with their own goals,
overblackcommunityissues
objectives, political aspirations
and motives for saddling him
as one minor center with no
statutory ability to control the
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
voting members.
PHILADELPHIA Former President Bill Clin- Sciortinos emailed version
of what happened to ICAs fi-
ton stumped for his wife, Democratic presidential
candidate Hillary Clinton, Thursday in Northwest nancial records fails to match
what he stated in an affidavit
Philadelphia, calling on a gym packed with sup-
porters to be part of a big turnout in Pennsyl- sent to the state Office of Open
Records or responses from ICA
vanias primary April 26. The event became a
board members contacted by
back-and-forth between Clinton and a protester,
the Trib.
though, in a heated exchange that consumed the
In the affidavit, signed and
final 15 minutes of his 45-minute speech.
dated March 1, Sciortino, the
Clinton took the stage before a crowd of about agencys public records offi-
400 inside Dorothy Emanuel Recreation Center in
cer, swore under penalty of
East Mount Airy, where voter turnout is histori- perjury that ICA no longer
cally among the strongest in the city.
possessed any check registers
Clinton touted his wifes health care legislation covering expenditures before
of the 1990s and her new proposal for 500 million 2010 because they have been
solar panels as part of a clean energy proposal. destroyed. He said that once
During the speech, Erica Mines, a Hunting annual outside financial au-
Park native, started yelling at Clinton over sev- dits of ICA end, his agency
eral issues, including his 1994 crime bill. Mines discards the invoices for the
argued the Clintons record has been one of audited period. He admitted
detriment to the black community. that ICA does not possess
She and another man held up alternating signs, board minutes from 2004
one reading: Clinton crime bill destroyed our through 2008, but failed to
communities! The former commander in chief re- explain in the affidavit what
sponded to the sign, saying, Lets talk about that, happened to them.
as Mines continued yelling over his responses. The Trib tried to contact vot-
I like protesters, but the ones that wont let ing ICA board members from
you answer are afraid of the truth, Clinton said. 2010 to the current panel reor-
ganized March 28 with three
He went on to say how he thinks the bill, and his
wife, helped the black community. new members about Sciorti-
Because of that bill, we had a 25-year low nos allegations that members
always knew about his finan-
in crime, a 30-year low in the murder rate, and
cial and legal troubles.
because of that and the background check law,
Current ICA board mem-
a 46-year low in deaths of lives by gun violence,
bers and Downtown attorneys
and who do you think those lives were that mat-
Nicholas Varischetti and Mi-
tered? Whose lives were saved that mattered?
Clinton asked. chael Danovitz told the Trib
previously that they were nev-
He noted his wife, a former senator from New
er informed by either Scior-
York, wasnt in the Senate at the time the bill was
tino or past appointees about
passed. She was spending her time trying to get missing records or Sciortinos
health care for poor kids who were they? And bankruptcy.
their lives matter, he said. I have no knowledge of
these claims, former ICA
board chairman Dana Yealy
said Thursday.
Former board treasurer Ann
to the present with the State
Ethics Commission, which
reported it could find no such
records and has launched an
investigation into the matter.
In addition, the Trib reported
Sciortino filed for personal
bankruptcy in 2010 amidst
accusations in court records
that he tried to hide money
from his ex-business partner
and creditors in a string of
sham companies run out of
his home.
Sciortino has repeatedly de-
clined Trib requests for inter-
views. He didnt return Trib
messages Thursday and was
not at the ICAs Downtown
office.
On Wednesday, the ICA
board met in secret to decide
Sciortinos fate, with options
ranging from letting his con-
tract expire, dismissing him,
or firing him for cause, the
Trib reported. Two of the op-
tions would require hefty sev-
erance package payments the
ICA may not be able to afford
without tapping into the citys
nearly $20 million in casino
gambling revenues the ICA is
holding.
The Allegheny County Dis-
trict Attorneys office began
a probe on Monday, and both
the state Attorney General and
Auditor General said Tuesday
they are weighing investiga-
tions.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Pedu-
to and City Council Finance
Committee chairwoman Na-
talia Rudiak have called for a
forensic audit that can re-
construct electronically the
ICA paperwork that has been
lost or discarded. DePasquale
has indicated he could conduct
such an audit but needs the
ICA boards consent.
Sciortino blamed Pedutos
administration for making
him the target of all the news
and media effort to deflect

VA says 29 people have been disciplined

VA FROM A1
from investigations that were com-
pleted more than a year ago.
The VA said it initiated discipline
against 29 people three of whom left
the agency because of the findings.
The agency said it has retrained thou-
sands of schedulers and is updating
software to make it easier for them to
book appointments properly. A pilot
program at 10 facilities allows veterans
would start the wait clock on the day
of the appointment they were booking
Investigations in Pa. rather than when the veteran wanted
to be seen. The system then showed
Horsham, outpatient clinic there was no wait time even if the
Schedulers were entering the veteran had to wait weeks or months
for an appointment.
next available date as the desired
date, falsely reflecting zero wait As recently as October, the Govern-
time. Supervisors at the center ment Accountability Office said the
north of Philadelphia sent out er- VAs wait-time system remains prone
ror lists of appointments in which to scheduler error and produces unreli-
Dugan a longtime critic of
Sciortino told the Trib that
the executive directors allega-
tions were without merit.
Former board vice chair-
woman Elise Yanders said her
Downtown investment firms
policy bars her from speaking
on the issues.
Neither former chairwoman
Barbara McNees nor former
board treasurer Rich Stanizzo
returned messages Thursday.
attention from a looming city
budget deficit.
We understand that Mr. Sci-
ortinos tenure at the ICA is
under investigation by several
authorities, and we decline
to comment on his personal
opinions, said Pedutos chief
of staff, Kevin Acklin.
Carl Prine is a member of the Tribune-
Review investigations team. Reach him at
cprine@tribweb.com or 412-320-7826.

to book their own appointments, and
the VA expects to roll that out nation-
wide, according to David Shulkin, a
physician who took over as undersec-
WERE
desired dates drastically differed able data.
from actual appointment dates
Shulkin said that in addition to the
reflecting long wait times but actions the agency has taken, he is
said they meant for schedulers to
check and see whether there were planning to overhaul entirely the way

retary for health at the VA in June.
Shulkin said he initiated two same-
day efforts to try to provide care sooner
for more than 100,000 veterans, and he
said the agency has increased capacity
BULLISH ON
errors. Investigators blamed mis- the VA measures wait times and en-
understandings for schedulers sures veterans get care when they
then going in and zeroing out the need it.
wait times and found managers I have found reports in the bottoms
failed to adequately follow up to of drawers from 15 years ago that sug-

to get wait times down.
Weve expanded appointments;
we have added evening hours and
weekend hours; weve added 3 million
square feet of space; weve hired 14,000
new providers, he said.
But VA whistle-blowers say schedul-
ers still manipulate wait times. Shea
Wilkes, co-director of a group of more
than 40 whistle-blowers from VA medi-
cal facilities in more than a dozen
states, said the group continues to
hear about it from employees across
the country who are scared to come
forward.
Until the VA decides it truly wants
to change its corrupt and poor culture,
those who work on the front lines and
possess the true knowledge relating
to the VAs continued data manipula-
tion will remain quiet and in hiding
because of fear of workplace harass-
ment and retaliation, said Wilkes, a
social worker at the VA Medical Center
in Shreveport, La.
This is not the first time the VA has
said it would fix problems with sched-
uling. When the inspector general
found in 2005 that VA schedulers were
improperly booking appointments
and wait lists were therefore underes-
timated by as many as 10,000 veterans
the agency initiated a national edu-
cation plan to retrain schedulers and
supervisors. In 2010, VA officials dis-
covered schedulers were using gam-
ing strategies to falsify wait times to
meet agency performance targets, and
make sure any corrections were
done properly. Completed Oct. 31,
2014.
Philadelphia,
VA medical center
The investigation found a former is a matter of actually redesigning and
manager used a spreadsheet of
referrals outside the VA schedul-
ing system to record private care
at the Pennsylvania Eye Institute.
The institute identified 900
patients who werent in the VA
system. Two employees said the
former medical center director
wanted to reduce the number of
patients on wait lists and said he
stated that the VA Medical Center
lost a patient care award and he
didnt want to be in that position isfaction. The VA currently asks vet-
again. So referrals were closed
in the VA system once they went
to PEI. A former manager said
wait lists were mentioned in his
2012 performance evaluation and
there was moderate pressure
to reduce the wait lists, but he
wasnt instructed to violate policy. ing system.
The former director didnt recall
making these statements and
said his performance awards were
not based solely on wait times.
Management corrected the issues,
contacting the 900 patients, and
the spreadsheet was no longer in
use. Completed Jan. 28, 2015.
In the new reports, investigators waiting more than 30 days for an ap-
COMFORT
gested that access issues existed in
the VA and that we needed to address
these systems systemically rather than
piecemeal, he said. Its not a matter
of just retraining people to be able to
accurately record wait-time data. This
relaunching your whole approach to
how you care for veterans.
On Friday, he plans to begin a dec-
laration of access, laying out goals to
reach by the end of the year, including
that veterans will be able to get same-
day primary care and mental health
care within a similarly ambitious time
frame.
He said the agency is moving toward
measuring wait times by veteran sat-
erans at computer kiosks when they
check in for appointments whether
they are satisfied that they got the ap-
pointments when they wanted them. The Un-Sneaker goes to work.
The VA also is working on a new way
to measure wait times in the schedul- With leather-lined interior, padded
None of that data is publicly avail- collar and custom soles the worlds
able yet, but Shulkin said he plans most comfortable shoe is now
to publish it on the VAs website in
coming months. Right now, he said, dressed for the ofce.
89 percent of veterans say they are
satisfied, and he uses the data to guide
management.
Its how I know were heading in the
right direction, he said.
More than 480,000 veterans were The Founder, shown here, is part of the
adno=6285861

Hubbard Go to Work collection. 844.482.4800

they required all schedulers to undergo found schedulers were using the same pointment as of March 15, public VA
new training, once again. strategies. Most commonly, schedulers data shows.