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The national commission charged with coming up with ideas to reform the VA health care system is calling for "bold" changes. Its main proposals are vigorously opposed by the government's largest employee union.
The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs certified to Congress that their electronic health records could finally exchange data in a meaningful way. But lawmakers aren’t satisfied with that assertion.
More federal employees turned to the Office of Special Counsel with prohibited personnel practice or whistleblower complaints in 2015, and the agency resolved more cases than any other year in its history.
Among the VA Commission on Care's 18 recommendations are proposals that could have major implications for the Veterans Health Administration workforce, from its size and scope to its overall organizational structure. VA Secretary Bob McDonald said the department will respond to the commission's report in the coming weeks.
Of 20 daily suicides, six were users of VA services. On the surface, that looks like the VA itself is a factor in preventing suicide.
Anchored in big, old-fashioned hospitals, VA lacks flexibility to offer more localized care, in more fine-tuned facilities.
The House passed a bill that would change the way agencies discipline and remove federal employees and members of the Senior Executive Service. One provision would put all SES members under the same, expedited disciplinary process that senior executives at the Veterans Affairs Department had until the Justice Department challenged its constitutionality.
The Justice Department has accused more than a dozen suspects of exaggerating the distance they traveled to receive medical treatment in order to increase travel reimbursements.
The Veterans Affairs Department says it’s earning back trust and confidence from the veterans it serves, and employee engagement within the department is also improving. This comes roughly 10 days before the VA Commission on Care is expected to pitch a major overhaul to the department’s health care and personnel systems.
The RRB issued an interim rule to increase penalties under the False Claims Act for the first time in 20 years.
Congress is pondering a major change in a benefit for veterans in government jobs. Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says the lack of publicity on it is very odd.
A recent decision from the Justice Department is prompting the VA to stop using the authority it has under current legislation to fire senior executives more quickly. The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee said the news comes after an inquiry over whether the VA planned to make any policy changes after the DOJ decision, which ultimately ruled that a key provision in the VA Choice Act is unconstitutional.
Danny Pummill, the acting undersecretary for benefits at the Veterans Affairs Department, is retiring, the agency announced June 16. Pummill had delayed his retirement to step into the role of acting undersecretary when the previous benefits director suddenly resigned last October.
Some documents related to veterans' disability claims are getting thrown out at Veterans Affairs regional offices, but the VA and its inspector general disagree whether the problem is a systemic issue or one that can be explained by human error.