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A VA Choice program change that would require VA facilities to meet certain standards to qualify as preferred treatment centers has been added to bipartisan Senate legislation after months of work by the Trump administration, a key senator and even the Koch brothers. This tweak moves the legislation away from what Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin wanted and endorsed. It also has awakened concerns that the measure could accelerate privatization of the VA's healthcare system, particularly in light of the involvement of the political action committee of Concerned Veterans for America, a not-for-profit funded by conservative mega-donors Charles and David Koch. The proposed reforms would significantly expand the private sector's role in VA healthcare. (Luthi, 2/22)

Robert Weaver, President Donald Trump’s former nominee to lead the Indian Health Service, said in a letter circulated to some tribal leaders and lobbyists Thursday that he was forced under duress to withdraw from consideration late last week. Mr. Weaver, an insurance broker and member of the Quapaw tribe of Oklahoma, said in the letter that he was contacted by an official in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at 4:30 p.m. last Friday. (Weaver and Frosch, 2/22)

The Trump administration is taking “a preliminary but important step” towards moving certain adults out of the food stamp program and into the workforce by seeking public recommendations for changes, the Agriculture Department official who oversees the program said Thursday. The 45-day comment period on the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking will lay the ground for changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) rules that govern the 9 percent of recipients who fall into the category of single, able-bodied adults without children, Brandon Lipps told reporters on a conference call. (Ferguson, 2/22)