Privatizing Veterans' Care At Root Of Attempted Rousting Of VA Secretary By Political Foes

The debate is heating up over how to provide veterans the best care, leading to unusually public displays of infighting at the troubled Veterans Affairs agency. Secretary David Shulkin has maintained control for now, saying that anyone not on board with the department's mission will have to get out.

In an administration rife with intramural fights, the battle over the Department of Veterans Affairs has stood out, not only for its vitriol but also for its consequences. At stake is the future of the nation’s veterans health care system. For now at least, it appears moderation has prevailed, with the Veterans Affairs secretary, David J. Shulkin, thwarting a pitched conservative push to drive him out. (Fandos and Philipps, 3/6)

In other veterans' health care news —

Suffering from heart problems, Bob Sloan told his children he wants to use California’s new law allowing life-ending drugs for the terminally ill when his disease becomes too advanced to bear. But then the 73-year-old former U.S. Army sergeant learned that because he lives at the Veterans Home of California at Yountville — the nation’s largest retirement home for veterans — he must first move out. (Watson, 3/7)

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