Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Issues Order To Protect VA Whistleblowers, But Some Say Changes Are 'All Hot Air'
As President Trump signed an executive order Thursday seeking to provide more protections to whistle-blowers at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the very people he's trying to protect are leery. In locations spanning from Arizona to Delaware, and Florida to Wisconsin, current and former employees who endured retaliation from superiors after they reported abuses have watched as those managers retained their positions — and were even promoted in some cases. (Slack, 4/27)
The president’s executive order created a new special assistant to the secretary who will “identify barriers that are preventing us from removing employees and people that we have identified that should no longer be working at VA,” Dr. Shulkin said. (Kesling, 4/28)
Trump, who made improving veterans’ care a prominent issue in his presidential campaign, said the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection will make clear “that we will never, ever tolerate substandard care for our great veterans.” VA Secretary David Shulkin said the office will help identify “barriers” that make it difficult for the department to fire or reassign bad managers or employees. (Superville and Yen, 4/27)
In other veterans' health care news —
Lawmakers demanded answers from the Department of Veterans Affairs and federal watchdogs Thursday as to why veteran suicides haven’t decreased despite increased funding to prevent them. Appropriators have injected new money into suicide prevention programs, a dedicated crisis line and mental health care. But despite that, veteran suicides have increased 32 percent since 2001, according to a sweeping report on veteran suicide published by the VA in August.The phenomenon isn’t limited to veterans. The civilian population’s suicide rate also shot up 23 percent over the same time period. (Mejdrich, 4/27)
Despite the lifting of a federal hiring freeze, the Department of Veterans Affairs is leaving thousands of positions unfilled, citing the need for a leaner VA as it develops a longer-term plan to allow more veterans to seek medical care in the private sector. The order by VA Secretary David Shulkin is described in an internal April 14 memorandum obtained by The Associated Press. (Yen, 4/26)
