As the countdown to the end of President Barack Obama’s time in office begins, so does the effort to discern his legacy. On veterans care, that legacy will not be something of which he or the nation should be proud.

About two years ago, the president signed a $15 billion fix that was to have shortened wait times, allowed veterans to seek private care under certain circumstances, hired more doctors, nurses and staff to expand access, and expedited the firing of employees who cook the books to mask shortcomings.

The New York Times recently analyzed the outcomes, and any fair reading leads to the conclusion that the veterans health system is still falling way short.

Wait times are up — 526,000 veterans still waiting more than a month for care, 88,000 of them more than three months. And there are suspicions that staff is still manipulating data to make the situation appear less bad than it really is — for instance, that waiting for the next available appointment was the veteran’s choice, not the agency’s.

Yes, the veterans health system, with a $10 billion boost from Congress, did create a program that allowed a veteran waiting more than 30 days for care or living more than 40 miles from a Veterans Affairs clinic to go to a private physician. But the program is cumbersome. Veterans have to work through a contractor to get the private care, and the delay is often as lengthy as if the veteran had waited for VA care. Moreover, each new test or procedure requires the veteran to go through the process anew.

As the Express-News’ reporting has uncovered, rural areas in Texas have a shortage of doctors, and a shortage of those with military experience who will understand what veterans have gone through.

The veterans health system did hire more staff, but at 19,000 this is still only 68 percent of its goal. Medical staff retiring or quitting is up 30 percent since 2011, according to the New York Times analysis. This happens amid signs that many are leaving because of what they view as flawed work environments.

And firing people who manipulate the data to mask problems? Nine people have been fired, and the Department of Veterans Affairs has now said it will stop using the enhanced dismissal authority. It seems as if every improvement comes with a “yes, but …” or was not an improvement at all.

Obama, speaking to disabled veterans recently, acknowledged that care is not what it should be. He called what the nation owes veterans a “sacred covenant.” Yes, it is, deserving of improvements that represent more than “yes, but … .” This is something the next Congress and the next president