In an apparent bid to win bipartisan support from Congress, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs pledged to push back against privatization of the military's healthcare system.
Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, M.D., who is the White House physician, made the assurances to Democratic senators during his visit to the Hill this week, the Washington Post reported . He held meetings with multiple senators this week in advance of his April 25 confirmation hearing, The Hill also reported .
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In March, Trump announced on Twitter that VA Secretary David Shulkin, M.D., would no longer lead the agency. Shulkin was embroiled in controversy following a VA Office of Inspector General report that detailed how he spent taxpayer money on a recent trip to Europe with his wife. Trump nominated Jackson as a permanent replacement for Shulkin, and that Robert Wilkie of the Department of Defense will serve as acting secretary in the interim.
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According to the Post, Jackson was met with plenty of skepticism from Democrats who have questioned his qualifications to lead such a large federal agency and his ability to fight off conservative efforts to outsource more military healthcare options.
The group Concerned Veterans for America, backed by the billionaire Koch brothers of Koch Industries, has pushed for increased privatization while other veterans groups, including the American Legion, have opposed it.
The move to privatize care began in 2014 when news broke that VA facilities across the country used secret lists to cover up long wait times for care, FierceHealthcare previously reported . In response, Congress took action to allow veterans who faced long wait times for care, or had to travel a long distance to receive care at a VA facility, to seek private care.
Upon his departure in March, Shulkin wrote an op-ed in the New York Times about his own opposition to privatization of the VA . The private sector "is ill-prepared to handle the number and complexity of patients that would come from closing or downsizing V.A. hospitals and clinics," he said in the piece.