Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Non-Sterile Equipment And Missing Tools Halt Surgeries At VA Hospital In Washington
USA Today: Stained, Missing Surgical Tools At Washington VA Hospital Put Veteran Patients In Danger
Investigators found stained surgical equipment and a surgery had to be halted at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Washington Wednesday because staff lacked equipment, indicating patients there are still in danger and prompting the VA’s chief watchdog to immediately notify members of Congress. A patient prepped for vascular surgery in the operating room at the hospital had already been placed under anesthesia when “it was determined that the surgeon did not have a particular sterile instrument to perform the surgery,” VA Inspector General Michael Missal wrote in a letter Wednesday. (Slack, 5/11)
The Washington Post: Lawmakers Reach Deal On Legislation To Make It Easier To Fire VA Employees
Top lawmakers on Capitol Hill have reached a bipartisan deal on legislation to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to take swift action to fire employees, an overhaul of long-guaranteed civil service protections that President Trump promised he would enact to bring accountability to the troubled agency. The agreement announced Thursday by key senators led by Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) clears a path for passage of a dramatic change that has stalled in Congress for three years following a scandal over waiting times for medical appointments at VA hospitals. (Rein, 5/12)
CQ Roll Call: Costs For Veterans' Private Health Care Worry Appropriators
Senate appropriators at a Thursday hearing highlighted the problems that could emerge with using both discretionary and mandatory funding to provide private medical care for veterans. Their comments came as they also debated the broader issue of how the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to rein in potentially significant costs associated with expanding veterans’ use of doctors and hospitals outside the VA system. (Mejdrich, 5/11)
