Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Facing Shortage, Officials Turn To Selling Docs On Working For The VA
The New York Times: Needing To Hire, Chief Of V.A. Tries To Sell Doctors On Change
Robert A. McDonald, formerly chief executive of Procter & Gamble, runs the government’s second-largest agency, the Department of Veterans Affairs. And he has been crisscrossing the nation looking for doctors-in-training to fill staffing shortfalls that over time could jeopardize care for millions of veterans. ... Mr. McDonald says he was shocked by a paucity of physicians, nurses and other clinicians in some veterans’ hospitals — a shortage that the department says contributed to delays in care that led to manipulated waiting lists for appointments. ... Mr. McDonald says the only way to address that shortage may involve not just increasing the number of students at existing medical schools but also building new schools. (Oppell, 11/8)
The Associated Press: VA Chief Says 1,000 Workers Face Disciplinary Action
The Veterans Affairs Department is considering disciplinary action against more than 1,000 employees as it struggles to correct systemic problems that led to long wait times for veterans seeking health care and falsification of records to cover up delays, said VA Secretary Robert McDonald. In an interview with the CBS News program "60 Minutes," McDonald said the VA is taking "aggressive, expeditious disciplinary action, consistent with the law" against more than 1,000 of its 315,000 employees. (11/8)
