NEW: Congress has pumped $19.4 billion since 2014 into private health care for veterans. Where has the money gone?
propublica.org/article/va-pri…
propublica.org/article/va-pri…
The Veterans Choice Program was supposed to give veterans a way around long waits in the VA. How did that work out? Wait times did not get better.
propublica.org/article/va-pri…
propublica.org/article/va-pri…
The winners have been 2 private firms that took almost $2 billion in fees. That’s ~24% of their total program expenses, which would exceed the federal cap on what most private insurance plans can spend on admin.
The contractors got so much money because the VA paid them $295+ every time it referred a veteran for private care. In some cases, the fee cost more than the doctor’s bill.
propublica.org/article/va-pri…
propublica.org/article/va-pri…
In addition to all those fees, both companies are now under federal investigation for overcharging the government.
propublica.org/article/va-pri…
propublica.org/article/va-pri…
Nevertheless, the VA recently expanded one of the companies’ contracts without competitive bidding. The fees are poised to grow as the administration plans to fulfill to Trump’s campaign promise to send more veterans to the private sector. propublica.org/article/trump-…
Look for VA Secretary Robert Wilkie to face questions about this at a hearing tomorrow.
Full story, with @JonZGreenberg @PolitiFact: propublica.org/article/va-pri…
More on how we did the math: propublica.org/article/how-we…
Full story, with @JonZGreenberg @PolitiFact: propublica.org/article/va-pri…
More on how we did the math: propublica.org/article/how-we…
