Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
VA Chief Pushes Overhaul, Firings At Agency
The Baltimore Sun: VA Head Outlines Fix For Troubled Agency
The new head of the Department of Veterans Affairs described the broad outlines Monday of an overhaul of the agency, which has been battered by scandals over lengthy delays setting up doctor's visits and attempts to cover up those backlogs. Advocates for veterans, meanwhile, said they were eager to see details of the plan. (Duncan, 11/10)
CNN: VA Chief Announces Restructuring, Firings
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs announced Monday a massive restructuring of the department in the wake of a scandal that left more than a hundred thousand veterans waiting for health care. VA Secretary Robert McDonald, who took over the agency three months ago after his predecessor Eric Shinseki resigned, said the VA has taken "disciplinary action" against 5,600 employees in the last year, and he said more firings will soon follow. (Devine and Diamond, 11/10)
NBC News: VA Head Details 'Largest' Ever Restructuring at Agency
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald announced “the largest restructuring in the department’s history” one day before Veterans Day. At the center of the changes is the ability for veterans to receive care outside of the VA. (Caldwell, 11/10)
Fox News: VA Secretary Pushes Major Overhaul, Firings At Agency
Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald on Monday announced a complete restructuring in the wake of the scandal over excessive wait times and poor care that critics blamed for patient deaths. The changes come a day after the secretary revealed on CBS' "60 Minutes" his intention to fire or otherwise discipline more than 1,000 workers -- and hire thousands more doctors and health care workers. (11/10)
Fox News: New Push For Military To Renew Focus On Mental Health
From 2004 to 2011, war was the top cause of death among active personnel, but suicide became the top cause of death in both 2012 and 2013, according to the Pentagon’s medical surveillance monthly report. (Snyder, 11/10)
Los Angeles Times: New VA Chief May Fire 1,000 Staffers Over Healthcare Scandal
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced a series of reforms Monday aimed at improving the agency’s customer service after concerns about substandard healthcare forced a leadership change earlier this year. Three months after taking the helm, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald unveiled plans to create a chief customer service officer tasked with overseeing an agency-wide program to streamline the department’s regional centers into a single network. (Hansen, 11/10)
Meanwhile, a trade group representing nurse practitioners is positioning its members to take advantage of thousands of new openings at the agency -
The Hill: Nursing Industry Angles For Windfall Of VA Jobs
The trade group representing nurse practitioners is moving to position its members for a windfall of new jobs expected as part of an overhaul of the Department of Veterans Affairs’s healthcare system. VA Secretary Robert McDonald announced plans in September to hire tens of thousands of new clinicians as part of a plan to restructure the agency, following a scandal involving lengthy wait times at agency-run healthcare facilities that led to the ouster of his predecessor, Eric Shinseki. (Wheeler, 11/10)
