Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) is under fire for releasing the private medical information of one veteran to another veteran with a similar name.
“With the VA plagued with a management crisis, it was claimed Hagan’s constituents services would ensure veterans would still receive the care and support they needed,” North Carolina Republican Party Executive Director Todd Poole said Tuesday. “But now even that has fallen by the wayside. And it’s come at the cost of two veterans having their personal records mixed up as Hagan failed once again to maintain a focus on our national security and taking care of our veterans.”
Monday evening ABC 11 News reported that Hagan’s Greensboro office confused the medical records of Kenneth A. White and Kenneth D. White, sending the wrong information to the wrong veteran. Both men are expressing anger.
“It makes a big difference, with me being Kenneth A. White, as opposed to the young man I got was Kenneth D. White,” Kenneth A. White–the veteran who was sent hundreds of pages of Kenneth D. White’s information after requesting VA records from Hagan’s Greensboro office around five months ago–said to ABC 11 News.
The younger White was livid.
“This wasn’t gotten over the internet,” Kenneth D. White told the local ABC affiliate. “This was sent from the U.S. government. That’s all my personal medical records, all my personal information–sent to another individual. I’m appalled and I’m very upset about that.”
The error comes as Hagan is in the final stretch of a tight reelection campaign against North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis.
In a statement to the local affiliate, Hagan’s office called the mistake a “clerical error.”
“My office handles tens of thousands of constituent cases, and we strive to do our best to resolve each case in a timely and accurate manner,” the statement read. “As soon as we learned of this situation, which was caused by a clerical error, my office took immediate corrective action and I sincerely apologize to all those involved.”
Despite the apology both Whites told ABC 11 News the incident was more than a “clerical error.”
“Kay Hagan’s office released private information like, a social security number, to the wrong veteran,” a Republican National Committee spokesman emailed reporters Tuesday morning. “Our veterans deserve the best care possible and should not have to worry about having their private information released by their Senator’s office. This is just the latest example of how Kay Hagan doesn’t put North Carolinians first.”
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