Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Overhauls, Streamlines Patient Complaint Process
The Washington Post: Denied Emergency Health Care? Feds Pledge To Speed Patient Complaints.
Patients who say they were denied emergency abortions and other emergency care can now file complaints directly with the federal government, officials announced Tuesday. Biden administration officials say that overhauling the process — which historically has been led by state agencies and involved a complex series of decisions — will expedite the federal government’s ability to investigate patients’ complaints and provide more transparency into emergency care access. (Diamond, 5/21)
KFF Health News: Exclusive: Senator Urges Biden Administration To Thwart Fraudulent Obamacare Enrollments
Stronger actions are needed immediately to thwart insurance brokers who fraudulently enroll or switch people in Affordable Care Act coverage, Sen. Ron Wyden, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, said Monday. “We want the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to hold these brokers criminally responsible for ripping people off this way,” he told KFF Health News. (Appleby, 5/21)
In news about veterans' health care —
Military.com: Documents Show $43.5 Million In PACT Act Bonuses Plus Pay Raises For VA Human Resources Staff
The Department of Veterans Affairs paid $43.5 million in bonuses to more than 6,500 human resources specialists last year under allowances stipulated in the PACT Act, an amount the department's chief human capital officer described as "significant." Documents obtained by Military.com through a Freedom of Information Act request show the department paid an average of $6,598.13 in critical skills incentives, or CSIs, to 6,517 human resources specialists in the Veterans Health and Veterans Benefits Administrations through June 2023 in addition to salary increases under PACT Act provisions. (Kime, 5/21)
Military.com: Senators Demand Recoupment Of $10.8 Million, Dismissal Of VA Officials Who Authorized Executive Bonuses
A group of Republican senators is calling for the firing of Department of Veterans Affairs officials who authorized $10.8 million in incentive bonuses to senior VA executives last year, funding that was intended to be used to retain employees in critically understaffed jobs. They specifically requested the immediate dismissal of Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal, Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs and Deputy Secretary Tanya Bradsher. (Kime, 5/21)
