HEALTHCARE/VA/VETS: “The top official at the Department of Veterans Affairs said he wants private-sector providers to play a larger role in veterans’ health care, a view likely to draw opposition for a Trump cabinet member who has enjoyed rare bipartisan support.
David Shulkin said in an interview that he wants to make the VA’s hospital system compete with private-sector providers for military veteran customers, which he said would give veterans greater choice over their health care.
His view on the future of the VA resembles that of the politically conservative Koch brothers, who recently announced they are launching a major effort to reshape the future of the nation’s largest health-care system…
House and Senate committees on veterans affairs are crafting legislation that would steer the future of private care at the VA. It would replace a law passed in 2014 in the wake of a wait time scandal. That law dramatically increased the number of appointments veterans get in the private sector using VA funding.”
-Ben Kesling and Peter Nicholas, “Veterans Affairs Chief Wants Bigger Role for Private Health Care,” The Wall Street Journal online, Nov. 20, 2017 07:00am