“The overall sense is outrage,” stated Kristen L. Rouse, the founding father of the NYC Veterans Alliance, who like many feminine veterans has acquired an outpouring of emails and calls from different feminine veterans who stated they’d experiences much like Ms. Goldstein’s.
Christina Mandreucci, a spokeswoman for the division, stated that “Secretary Wilkie acknowledges that describing the allegations as ‘unsubstantiated’ was a poor alternative of phrases, and he withdraws that phrase.”
On the similar time, the division is concentrated on the rollout of a broad enlargement of well being care from non-public physicians, lots of whom are reluctant to do enterprise with the company due to its historical past of gradual funds. Well being care supplier networks are scrambling to construct capability with out actually figuring out what number of sufferers they might want to serve within the 36 states the place this system will start in Might.
“I’ve heard from a lot of South Dakota suppliers, who contract with the V.A. to ship well being care providers to veterans, who’re owed tens of millions of {dollars} in overdue claims,” Senator Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota, stated at a current listening to. “Due to this, they’re now within the horrible place of presumably having to show away veterans searching for care.”
Every week in the past, the deputy veterans affairs secretary, James Byrne, was requested to stay behind after a morning assembly. Mr. Wilkie then informed Mr. Byrne that he had “misplaced confidence” in his No. 2 and that he wanted to resign.
“For 2 and a half years I had the privilege of working with devoted professionals on the V.A. offering care advantages and providers to deserving veterans,” Mr. Byrne stated.
No additional clarification has been publicly supplied by division officers for his dismissal.
“The second-highest particular person within the second-biggest company within the federal authorities acquired fired, and nobody is aware of why,” stated Kristofer Goldsmith, the chief investigator for Vietnam Veterans of America. “It’s mind-blowing.”