The man who blew the whistle on patient scheduling problems at the Phoenix VA hospital, Dr. Sam Foote, says the agency needs to look at a partnership with the private sector to make urgent and emergency care readily available.

“Veterans are going to need to have something like a Vetacare card, similar to a Medicare card and maybe run by Medicare, or follow the model closely, to where if they have an urgent or emergent problem they can go to the closest appropriate health facility and get the care they need,” Foote said.

Foote notes that as the investigation continues, the death toll is growing beyond the 40 vets he said died while waiting for care at the Phoenix VA and could now be as high as 63.