VA Awards Contract for Independent Assessment of Health Care to Non-Profit Firm

Choice Act Requires Third Party Assessment of Processes; Firm Will Serve as Program Integrator

Washington – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced that the MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit company that operates multiple federally funded research and development centers, has been awarded a contract to support the Independent Assessment of VA health care processes, as required by the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 (“Choice Act”). MITRE Corporation will serve as program integrator.

Section 201 of the Choice Act directs VA to enter into one or more independent, third-party contracts for an assessment of the hospital care, medical services and other health care processes in VA medical facilities. The program integrator will be responsible for coordinating the outcomes of the assessments conducted by the third-party entities according to the scope of the contracts. The program integrator is required to report the independent assessment results to Congress within 60 days of the assessment’s conclusion.

“This independent assessment is a key element in our effort to rebuild trust with Veterans and our other stakeholders,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald.  “It will provide the Department a way to transparently review our vital programs, organizations, and business practices to make us a better and more accountable VA for the Veterans we serve.”

Working with Congress, Veterans Service Organizations, and other stakeholders, VA has taken steps to implement Choice Act legislation, including:

• Establishing a Program Management office to oversee planning and implementation of the legislation across the Department.
• Putting in place the mechanisms to execute the outlined facilities with the authorization provided to carry out major medical facility leases.
• Working through the contracting process to extend the pilot program called Project ARCH to ensure the continued expanded access for Veterans in rural areas provided by that program.
• Holding Industry Day to seek input on how best to provide administrative support including issuing Veteran Choice Cards.

VA reform bill preserves employee bonuses

Despite public outrage over dysfunctional and dangerously run hospitals, a landmark VA reform bill set to be signed Thursday by President Barack Obama will retain some department perks: Hefty bonuses for executives and other employees.

The bill includes a compromise by House and Senate lawmakers allowing the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue handing out up to $360 million in employee performance awards each year as it attempts to overhaul its health care system and ease chronically long patient wait times.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/va-reform-bill-preserves-employee-bonuses-1.296911

Moran Introduced Legislation to Research Health of Descendants of Vets Exposed to Toxins

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) has introduced legislation to research the health conditions of descendants of veterans who were exposed to toxins during their military service. The Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014, which is supported by the Vietnam Veterans of America and AMVETS, would establish a national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions stemming from exposure to toxins such as Agent Orange in Vietnam, Gulf War neurotoxins, burn pits in Iraq and other chemicals from recent overseas conflicts. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined Sen. Moran in introducing the legislation.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.hayspost.com/2014/08/04/moran-introduced-legislation-to-research-health-of-descendants-of-vets-exposed-to-toxins/

VVA PRESS RELEASE>>>Sen. Jerry Moran Joins With Senator Blumenthal To Introduce Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act of 2014

“We applaud Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) for joining forces to introduce The Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014, said VVA National President John Rowan. “Among the so-called invisible wounds of war are those brought home by troops that may not manifest for decades. And most tragically, the damage done by the toxins may pass on genetically to the children and grandchildren of our nation’s warriors. Our children are the innocent victims of our military service.”

This bill, (S.2738), instructs the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of the descendants of veterans exposed to toxins during service in the Armed Forces. Further, S.2738 calls for the establishment of an advisory board to oversee and assess the work of the center; to determine health conditions that result from toxic exposure; and to study and evaluate cases of exposure. The advisory board will advise the Secretary of VA on issues related to research conducted at the National Center and the particular benefits and services required by the descendants of individuals exposed while serving as members of the Armed Forces.

Toxins, such as Agent Orange, have been shown to cause birth defects in the children of military personnel who came into contact with them, either during the Vietnam War, in the storage and transportation of those toxins, or by riding in aircraft that had been previously used to transport the toxins. For Gulf War veterans, the exposure was to chemical weapons that were in an Iraqi ammo dump that was blown up by U.S. Forces at the end of the Gulf War, to oil fires, and possibly to tainted vaccines. This is comprehensive legislation that will construct a common mechanism and procedures that will encompass all past and future toxic wounds, as needed.

We thank Senator Blumenthal and Senator Moran for constructing this bi-partisan bill, and we thank Senator Begich for being an original co-sponsor. We look forward to many additional co-sponsors, and to the support of many of our colleagues in other veterans organizations. We also look forward to quick action by the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs when Congress returns in September.

Source>>>http://www.vva.org/PressReleases/2014/pr14-018.html

McDonald must clean house at VA, experts say

Bob McDonald, President Barack Obama’s pick to head up the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs, faces such a hidebound bureaucracy that experts say the way forward is clear: He must clean house.

“McDonald has to walk in and kind of dismantle all of those structures that would keep the culture in the same place,” according to Todd Henshaw, the director of executive leadership programs at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. “If you’ve been in an organization that’s failed across the board the way the VA has, the writing is on the wall and probably a lot of the senior people have to go … He’s going to need some people coming in from the outside” with “some experience and some success leading organizations through turnarounds and transformations.”

Continue Learning>>>http://www.stripes.com/news/mcdonald-must-clean-house-at-va-experts-say-1.294510

OPINION: VA Scandal 2014

I don’t know why anyone is surprised about trouble at some VA facilities. We have World War II and Korean War veterans passing at a quick rate, many using VA faculties in their final days. Every Vietnam veteran with boots on the ground was exposed to Agent Orange, possible prostate cancer, millions, and we’re all at that “age!”

And now we have many thousands of men and women who served in Afghanistan and Iraq using the VA system at an unprecedented rate because of a good campaign specifically aimed at getting new veterans to file claims for “service connected” injuries upon return from deployment, to get in the system! And then add in for bad measure corrupt VA employees endangering veterans through their greed!

Continue Learning>>>http://www.htrnews.com/story/opinion/readers/2014/07/25/panel-discussion/13182997/

Veterans Need To Take Ownership Over Their Health Care

The bigger problem is the absence of a coherent co-payment system to incentivize veterans to think through their health care decisions. Contrary to conventional wisdom, VA health care is free only to veterans with severe, service-related conditions. Abyzantine co-insurance system exists in which the cost of care is linked to the severity of a veteran’s condition and the degree to which the condition is service-related. Veterans additionally receive a monthly tax-free cash payment based on the severity of their service-related health condition. The result is that veterans face perverse incentives to let their health deteriorate to the point where they can avoid copayments and receive higher monthly financial support. Reform should focus on redesigning VA co-insurance to give veterans incentives to embrace preventive care and take greater ownership over their health care decisions.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2014/06/27/veterans-need-to-take-ownership-over-their-health-care/

Manteca veteran shares his VA hospital snafu story

In light of what happened in the Phoenix VA Hospital and what is happening around the nation, I felt I must tell my story. I am a Vietnam veteran and have several Agent Orange related health issues. In 2007 I had a baseball sized tumor removed from my shoulder at the Mather Airbase Hospital in Sacramento. The surgery went well and I received great care there, but I was advised I would need a complete shoulder replacement surgery. It would have to be performed in  Palo Alto, I was told.

Jump ahead to March 2013. I went to Palo Alto’s VA Hospital and did a CT sand and MRI and was immediately prepped for surgery. Then  they told me to return the next day (Friday). On Friday I was told to return Monday. They informed me Monday that there was no surgeon available to perform the surgery and sent me home with pain pills and recommended I exercise the shoulder. It was a  shoulder that was continually popping out of the socket.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.mantecabulletin.com/section/37/article/107204/

VA chief: 100,000 vets were on fake wait lists

More than 100,000 of America's military veterans were victims of bogus waiting lists for medical appointments, according to a Department of Veterans Affairs inquiry, and acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said the nation will learn Monday how many patients in each city were relegated to "secret lists."

During a news conference Thursday at the Carl T. Hayden Medical Center in Phoenix, where the VA scandal erupted, Gibson also disclosed that at least 18 Arizona veterans died while waiting for doctor appointments, though it remains unclear whether delayed care was to blame for the deaths.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2014/06/06/va-chief-vets-fake-wait-lists/10053681/

Why Veterans Affairs Can’t Root Out Its Corruption

Eric Shinseki may be gone, but there are still indefensible civil service rules in place that put failing bureaucrats' job security ahead of the safety of the veterans they should be serving.

The independent VA Inspector General’s report was brutal in its assessment. Department officials at the Phoenix VA Health Care System used tricks to hide months-long delays faced by veterans seeking appointments. This fraud increased hospital administrators’ chances of netting cash bonuses and salary increases while jeopardizing veterans’ health, the report implied. According to the IG, similar scams are taking place at VA hospitals throughout the country.

Continue Learning>>>

http://time.com/2809158/veterans-affairs-scandal-eric-shinseki/

Senators reach deal on VA health care

The legislation would streamline executive firings, expand access to outside health care for rural veterans, hire more doctors and nurses, and look at ways to improve VA computer systems.

It was a hard-fought compromise between Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who both floated VA reform bills to help solve a widening scandal over patient scheduling abuses and veteran deaths. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who sponsored a bill solely on firing VA executives, said Thursday he also supports the compromise.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.stripes.com/senators-reach-deal-on-va-health-care-1.287241

Agent Orange: Vietnam vet from Syracuse inspires bill in Congress to compensate families

U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei has introduced a bill named after Hackett's husband that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a task force on Agent Orange.

The task force would recommend how to care for and compensate Vietnam vets and their children or grandchildren who develop Agent Orange-related illnesses and birth defects.

Maffei, D-Syracuse, introduced the "Lawrence J. Hackett Jr. Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange Fairness Act" in April and is now seeking Republican co-sponsors in the House.

Continue Learning>>>
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/agent_orange_vietnam_vet_from_syracuse_inspires_bill_in_congress_to_compensate_f.html

VA NEWS>>>VA Controversy, VA Expands Phoenix Hospital Probe, Veterans Fears National VA Problems, Top VA Official Resigns, Want to Fix VA?, VA in Crisis, VA Staffers 'Gaming System', VA Hospital Delays

VA controversy: White House aide heading to Phoenix

A top White House aide assigned to review problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs is going to Phoenix, where CNN reported that fraudulent records -- including secret lists -- covered up allegedly deadly waiting periods for veterans to get care.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Tuesday that Rob Nabors, the deputy chief of staff helping the review by Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, will head to Phoenix on Wednesday night to interview the interim director of the VA office and visit the facility.

The American Legion is monitoring alleged VA mismanagement within the 16 states highlighted below. #notjustphoenix

VA Expands Phoenix Hospital Probe Over Long Waits for Appointments

The Department of Veterans Affairs said it has expanded an investigation of a Phoenix hospital where a whistleblower alleges that as many as 40 veterans died amid lengthy waits for appointments.

The VA inspector general's office first received what it termed credible complaints about the Phoenix VA Health Care System from a hotline at the end of 2013, said inspector-general spokeswoman Catherine Gromek, and the office launched a review in January. She declined to identify who made the complaints, and added that the inspector general requires only one credible allegation to begin an investigation.


Veteran fears national VA problems are here in Kentucky

Dan Griffiths is a Vietnam veteran. He believes much of his current ailments stem from exposure to Agent Orange. Throughout the years, he's visited the Lexington VA Medical Center for treatment.

On a national level, veteran's affairs hospital have been under fire after multiple allegations that officials have covered up reports of veterans waiting for months for health care. Those delays may have led to dozens of death.

Top VA official resigns under fire

Robert Petzel, undersecretary for health at the Veterans Affairs Department, resigned on Friday, one day after testifying before a Senate panel.

Petzel, who had been slated to retire later this year, stepped down in the wake of allegations that some VA facilities kept secret wait lists to cover up how long veterans were kept waiting to receive care.

Want to Fix VA Health Care? Get Rid of It

On Thursday VA Secretary Eric Shinseki was grilled by members of Congress about significant and perhaps deadly delays in health care for America’s veterans. Some on Capitol Hill, and some leaders of veterans organizations, have demanded his resignation.

But the problem with the VA is not its boss. It doesn’t matter whether Eric Shinseki stays or goes, or whether he’s done a good job during his five-year tenure in trying to address the VA’s many long-term issues in delivering quality care. The problem is the VA. The medical component of the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to be abolished. We need to shut the doors of the thousands of medical facilities around the country that are failing to serve our veterans.

Veterans Affairs In Crisis: 10 Questions For VA Secretary Eric Shinseki

With the scandal growing, Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) and the American Legion have called for Shinseki’s resignation — not out of hostility toward the secretary, but because we believe replacing the department’s top leader will send a clear message that no one should be above accountability. And Shinseki has a lot to answer for. In Phoenix, a VA whistleblower alleges that at least 40 veterans died while on a secret “interim” wait list for medical appointments, and there are credible allegations that VA employees attempted to destroy evidence of the secret list. Similar revelations of falsified data and corrupt record-keeping have arisen in Colorado, Texas and Wyoming.

Memos Show VA Staffers Have Been 'Gaming System' for Six Years

Internal memos show the VA has been playing whack a mole for at least six years with employees who use dozens of different scheduling tricks to hide substantial delays in health care for America’s veterans. And whenever the VA tries to stop its staffers from “gaming the system,” the staffers come up with new techniques.

Whistleblowers around the country are now accusing the VA of hiding a backlog in patient care with bookkeeping tricks, and a former doctor at a VA facility in Arizona says the delays may have contributed to the deaths of 40 patients.

Staff at embattled Phoenix VA pocketed bonuses, hefty salaries

Employees at the embattled Phoenix office of the Department of Veterans Affairs have been making millions in higher-than-average salaries and bonuses, according to federal records reviewed by Fox News. 

Veterans Affairs Hospital Delays

VA NEWS>>>He Knew as far back as 2008, Obama Needs to Step up to the Plate, VA Scandal, Swift Accountability, Bonuses Banned for VA execs, 1.5 Million Unfinished Medical Orders Purged, VA Secretary Shinseki Must Go, VIDEO>>>Why He Should Not Resign

He KNEW! Obama told of Veterans Affairs health care debacle as far back as 2008

The Obama administration received clear notice more than five years ago that VA medical facilities were reporting inaccurate waiting times and experiencing scheduling failures that threatened to deny veterans timely health care — problems that have turned into a growing scandal.

Veterans Affairs officials warned the Obama-Biden transition team in the weeks after the 2008 presidential election that the department shouldn’t trust the wait times that its facilities were reporting.

Sen. McConnell: Obama needs to ‘step up to the plate’ in VA scadal

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly Monday that President Obama needs to “step up to the plate” and personally focus on the problems plaguing the VA.

McConnell’s comments come as a West Virginia doctor told Fox News Monday that she was told to put patients seeking treatment off for months on end -- and that at least two of them committed suicide.

Veterans advocate says it's time for 'swift accountability' in VA scandal

The deputy director of the VFW Nation Veterans Service said Sunday there needs to be “swift accountability” regarding reports of treatment delays at veterans’ hospitals across the country.

“The families of these veterans need justice and they need it quickly,” Ryan Gallucci said on “Fox News Sunday.”

House passes measure to ban bonuses for VA executives

The House on Wednesday passed a bill amendment that would ban bonuses for senior executives with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.), a co-sponsor of the proposal and a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said the measure is needed because of “systematic leadership failures,” including preventable deaths at VA health centers, a backlog of longstanding disability claims and extensive delays for many of the department’s construction projects.

Veterans Affairs officials purged 1.5 million unfinished medical orders

More than 1.5 million medical orders were canceled by the Department of Veterans Affairs without any guarantee the patients received the treatment or tests they needed, the Washington Examiner has found.

Since May 2013, veterans' medical centers nationwide have been under pressure to clear out 2 million backlogged orders for patient care or services.

Gunny Duff Comes Out Guns Blazing: VA Secretary Shinseki Must Go 

The scandal is ongoing according Duff, who has charged the VA with having a “culture of corruption,” a phrase that fits well given the widespread nature of the bad behavior.

VIDEO>>>Secretary Eric Shinseki on Why he should not resign

Ignored, mistreated and turned away: Tales from the Phoenix VA

More than 200 veterans and family members packed into American Legion Post 41 to share horror stories of delays, misdiagnoses and poor treatment with the national commander of the American Legion and the interim director of the Phoenix VA. Steve Young took over after whistleblowers revealed secret waiting lists used to cover up backlogs and extensive wait times. One of the whistleblowers, Dr. Samuel Foote, said there are at least 13,000 patients without primary care doctors, and even more who can’t get timely specialty appointments or follow-ups.

He said 40 veterans died while waiting for appointments in Phoenix VA clinics, and VA wrongdoings have surfaced in at least 10 states.

The Legion’s Daniel Dellinger told the crowd that the VA has “a pattern of unresponsiveness that has infected the entire system.”

Continue Learning>>>http://www.stripes.com/news/ignored-mistreated-and-turned-away-tales-from-the-phoenix-va-1.283413#.U3ZwXkQ5T9w.facebook

VA NEWS>>>Statement by VA Secretary Shinseki on Allegations, Hospital delays are killing America's war veterans, Hagel: VA backlog, ‘we missed it’, Fixing the VA, Shinseki to testify

Statement by VA Secretary Shinseki on Allegations Regarding the Phoenix VA Health Care System

“We take these allegations very seriously. Based on the request of the independent VA Office of Inspector General, in view of the gravity of the allegations and in the interest of the Inspector General’s ability to conduct a thorough and timely review of the Phoenix VA Health Care System (PVAHCS), I have directed that PVAHCS Director Sharon Helman, PVAHCS Associate Director Lance Robinson, and a third PVAHCS employee be placed on administrative leave until further notice. 

Hospital delays are killing America's war veterans

The VA has confirmed six deaths at Dorn tied to delays. But sources close to the investigation say the number of veterans dead or dying of cancer because they had to wait too long for diagnosis or treatment at this facility could be more than 20. "It's very sad, because people died," said Dr. Stephen Lloyd, a private physician specializing in colonoscopies in Columbia.

Hagel: VA backlog, ‘we missed it’

“I don’t think it just started with General Shinseki’s term at the VA, this is something that should have been looked at years and years ago, so yes, we missed it,” Hagel said on ABC “This Week.”  Shinseki will testify next Thursday before the Senate Committee on Veteran’s Affairs.

Fixing the VA Requires More Than a Fall Guy 

Over the past several weeks, disturbing revelations about mismanagement and potential malfeasance at the VA medical center in Phoenix — where 40 veterans reportedly died due to delayed care — have raised serious questions about the department’s culture. Similar allegations have now arisen in Fort Collins, Colo., andSan Antonio, Texas, where it’s reported that VA officials falsified records to obscure the truth about how long patients were waiting for care — once again, to the severe detriment of veterans and their families. Veterans across the country are dying in VA hospitals, far from combat, while waiting on falsified waiting lists — a national scandal.

Shinseki to testify on claims of cover-up in deaths of VA patients waiting for care

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee scheduled the hearing for next Thursday, announcing the move shortly after the House Veterans Affairs Committee agreed unanimously Thursday to subpoena top VA officials for documents related to the growing controversy.

Dellinger calls for VA secretary, 2 others to step down

“Gen. Eric Shinseki has served his country well,” Dellinger said. “His patriotism and sacrifice for this nation are above reproach. However, his record as the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs tells a different story. The existing leadership has exhibited a pattern of bureaucratic incompetence and failed leadership that has been amplified in recent weeks.”

Continue Learning>>>http://www.legion.org/veteranshealthcare/221974/dellinger-calls-va-secretary-2-others-step-down

Veterans die after being placed on VA Hospital’s secret waiting list

The secret list was part of an elaborate scheme designed by Veterans Affairs managers in Phoenix who were trying to hide that 1,400 to 1,600 sick veterans were forced to wait months to see a doctor, according to a recently retired top VA doctor and several high-level sources.

For six months, CNN has been reporting on extended delays in health care appointments suffered by veterans across the country and who died while waiting for appointments and care. But the new revelations about the Phoenix VA are perhaps the most disturbing and striking to come to light thus far.

Continue Learning>>>http://myfox8.com/2014/04/23/veterans-die-after-being-placed-on-va-hospitals-secret-waiting-list/

Tears, angry accusations mark hearing on delayed VA care, deaths

The CNN investigative piece found that at least 19 veterans died because of delays in simple medical screenings like colonoscopies or endoscopies at various VA facilities, according to an internal agency document.

They were among 82 people who have died or are dying or have suffered serious injuries as a result of delayed diagnosis or treatment for colonoscopies or endoscopies.

"This is an outrage! This is an American disaster!" Rep. Jackie Walorski, an Indiana Republican, nearly screamed, her voice quavering.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/09/politics/veterans-dying-house-hearing/index.html?sr=sharebar_facebook

Veterans Affairs Scrutinized Over Rehiring of Employee After Fatal Incident

Though Fillingim resigned his job in November 2010, five months after the incident, the I-Team learned he was rehired in March 2011, to a different post in a VA office in Georgia. Fillingim was rehired despite being the subject of an ongoing federal investigation into misconduct. Fillingim has retained the job ever since, despite investigators ruling he misused a government vehicle by driving it “intoxicated."

• Office of Inspector General Report of Investigation

House Committee on Veterans Affairs Chairman Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), during the Thursday hearing, called the incident "egregious" and asked a VA deputy secretary to provide details about who decided to rehire Fillingim and why. Miller also asked, "Why isn't drinking and driving a government vehicle a fire-able offense?"

Continue Learning>>>http://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/Veterans-Affairs-Scrutinized-Over-Rehiring-Employee-After-Fatal-Incident--253275011.html