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Trump Talks Veteran Care with Hospital Leaders

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va health

By Debbie Gregory.

Last month, President-elect Donald Trump convened a meeting to explore additional ways to enable veterans to obtain private medical treatment

Trump met with a group of private-sector health care executives, including Mayo Clinic chief executive John Noseworthy and Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove to discuss overhauling health care for veterans, including by allowing them to more readily visit hospitals outside the Veterans Affairs system.

The group weighed public-private partnerships and other options that would make it possible for veterans to go to any hospital for care, inside the VA system or outside of it, a senior transition official said after the meeting. Some veterans advocacy groups have cautioned against expanding access to care outside the government-run hospitals under the Veterans Health Administration, fearing the system may be weakened by privatization.

The VA system spends about $70 billion a year on medical care, offering a potential windfall to private hospitals if more veterans are allowed into their beds.

Other present included Paul Rothman, CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine and David Torchiana, CEO of Partners HealthCare.

The hospital executives left the meeting without speaking to reporters.

Currently, the VA does farm out medical treatment to the private sector for veterans who have been waiting too long for appointments in the government-run system, and for those who have to travel significant distances to VA hospitals and clinics.

But some Republicans have pushed for a completely open system, commonly known as choice, while Democrats have said the move would effectively amount to privatizing a system that was designed to focus on the unique needs of military veterans.

Trump has met with or considered about a dozen candidates to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, but finding the right person for the job, and someone who actually wants it, remains one of Trump’s biggest challenges.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Investigation Questions Work Ethic of VA Suicide Counselors

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suicide prevention

By Debbie Gregory.

When it comes to suicide prevention, many of our nation’s veterans are being underserved.

A recent investigative report by USA Today reveled that while the Veterans Crisis Line is receiving calls at record levels, many hotline staffers were only handling one to five calls each day, and leaving work early.

The overflow calls that can’t be taken by the hotline forward to backup centers and are handled by counselors who don’t have access to veterans’ electronic medical records. These counselors are also less experienced in dealing with former service members.

This network of 164 private, nonprofit phone banks also provides 24/7 services for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. A 2015 Inspector General investigation found that some incoming calls from veterans went to voicemail after rolling over to the backup centers.

The poor work habits of the Crisis Line staffers have resulted in 35 percent to 50 percent of calls rolling.

The number of calls received by the VA suicide hotline increased almost 700 percent from 2008 to 2015, according to a recent government audit.

A recent congressional investigative report questioned the call center’s responsiveness to contacts made via mobile text, which found that four out of 14 test text messages did not receive a response from VA staffers. Of the 10 test text messages that received a response, eight were received within two minutes, and two were received within five minutes.

“VA officials stated that text messages are expected to be answered immediately, but, as with online chats, the VA has not yet developed formal performance standards for how quickly responders should answer text messages,” auditors wrote.

VA deputy director Sloan Gibson and other officials said they are currently adding counselors and taking steps to improve quality of care.

“I step back from this, and I look at it and I see a function, an activity, that has been chronically undermanaged for years,” Gibson told USA Today.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.


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