Source: The American Prospect
by Suzanne Gordon & Steve Early
“At the mid-January confirmation hearing for Doug Collins to be secretary of veterans affairs, many senators, including Republicans, directed his attention to the problematic results of past VA outsourcing to private-sector vendors. First up for discussion was the $31 billion annual cost of referring 40 percent of the VA’s patient population to 1.4 million outside health care providers, under guidelines developed by Collins’s Republican predecessor, Robert Wilkie, who led the VA during most of Donald Trump’s first term. As Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Angus King (I-ME), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) all warned Collins, this mostly unnecessary outsourcing was a formula for what King called ‘creeping elimination of the veterans’ healthcare system’ as a high-performing public option for nine million former service members. ” (03/12/25)
https://prospect.org/health/2025-03-12-doug-collins-cancel-culture-veterans-affairs/