Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Astounding Price Tag' For VA Hospitals, And Costs Still Rising
The Washington Post: VA Building Projects Riddled With Mistakes And Cost Overruns
There are hospital doors at the half-built Veterans Affairs medical center outside Denver that were supposed to cost $100 each but ended up running $1,400. There’s a $100-million-and-still-rising price tag for an atrium and concourse with curving blond-wood walls and towering glass windows. And entire rooms that had to be refashioned because requests for medical equipment changed at the last minute and in other cases the equipment didn’t fit. No one had bothered to measure. (Wax-Thibodeaux, 4/13)
The Associated Press: Investigator: VA Whistleblower Cases Remain 'Overwhelming'
The number of whistleblower cases reported at the Department of Veterans Affairs remains "overwhelming," a year after a scandal broke over chronic delays for veterans seeking medical care and falsified records covering up the delays, a top federal investigator said Monday. Carolyn Lerner, head of the independent Office of Special Counsel said complaints of waste, fraud and abuse — as well as threats to the health and safety of veterans — continue to pour in, even after Congress gave the department an extra $16 billion last year to shorten waits for care and overhaul the agency. (Daly, 4/14)
NBC News: Military Kids May Be Missing Vaccines
Military children may be missing out on important childhood vaccines, researchers reported on Monday. A check of their medical records shows many are either missing vaccines, or they are missing the records to show they had them. Either way, it's not good, says Dr. Angela Dunn, who led the study, published in the journal Pediatrics. (Fox, 4/13)
