Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
VA Secretary Says Inability To Quickly Fire Staff Is A Vulnerability For Agency
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin urged Congress on Wednesday to pass a law that would let him respond more quickly to employee misconduct, such as the case of a psychiatrist who was caught watching pornography on an iPad while seeing a patient. Shulkin, in a briefing on the state of the department, said that veterans' access to medical care had improved significantly since a scandal over wait times three years ago prompted the resignation of a VA secretary and forced major reforms. (Alexander, 5/31)
In other VA news聽鈥
Dr. David Shulkin, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said Wednesday that medical marijuana may benefit veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, and encouraged lawmakers to debate the issue. 鈥淭here may be some evidence that this is beginning to be helpful, and we鈥檙e interested in looking at that,鈥 Dr. Shulkin told reporters at the White House when asked about medical marijuana. (Bender, 5/31)
