Ideas

Don’t Privatize the Veterans Health Administration

The healthcare industry wants to take over a system that – for all its problems – still outperforms the private sector.

Policy

VA's New Paperless Claim System Has Nearly Doubled in Costs

The agency’s deputy IG told lawmakers the billion-dollar (and counting) system may not be worth the money.

Policy

Why Veterans Day Won't Spark Real Debate on National Security

Veterans Day underscores how the public and politicos focus on manufactured patriotism instead of actual national security experience and policy specifics.

Ideas

Military Experience Isn't Preparing Veterans for Private Success

It may be less about training and more about ethos. You already chose honor over money.

Defense Systems

ONR software helps those with traumatic brain injuries perform rehab

The MOVER software helps guide soldiers suffering from TBIs through rehabilitation exercises in their homes.

Policy

Congress OKs Shifting $3 Billion To Bail Out Cash-Strapped VA

Without the fix, the department said it would have to close hospitals, furlough workers and issue a hiring freeze starting in August.

Policy

Meet Joe Heck, the GOP One-Star General Who Could Take Reid's Senate Seat

Military experience? Check. Small business owner? Check. Physician? Check. Congressional leadership? Check. Winning record in swing district? Check. National security election? Double check.

Science & Tech

VA’s ‘Grand Challenge’: Open-Source Prosthetic Limbs for Veterans

The VA hopes a contest will spur innovation in replacement limbs the way DARPA jumpstarted self-driving cars.

Business

Whistleblower Says VA Spent More Than $6 Billion Unlawfully

Secretary McDonald, who apparently sat on a memo about the problem, says the whistleblower should fix it himself.

Science & Tech

VA Blocked More Than a Billion Cyber Threats in March

The VA could become quickly overwhelmed if the threat continues to escalate, the agency's top information officer said.

Business

Veterans Sue the VA Over Access to Medical Records

Some veterans are upset they're having to waiting hundreds of days just to advance the process of applying for combat-related compensation.

Business

Another Try at Curbing VA Bonuses Advances in the House

The new legislation would empower the secretary to block certain retirement benefits while capping bonuses for executives.

Science & Tech

US Hospitals Could Save Billions If They Took This Lesson from the VA

Most hospitals don’t have good ways of measuring the complex costs associated with an individual patient’s stay in the hospital. The VA is one surprising exception.

Business

VA Pushes Back Against Claims Its Officials Lied to Congress

The VA's Carol Clancy condemned reports that its officials lied about improvements to patient waiting times during recent Congressional testimony.

Policy

Lawmaker Wants All VA Bonuses Halted Until Colorado Project Is Completed

A new bill from Colorado's Rep. Mike Coffman would halt all bonuses across the Veterans Affairs Deparment until a long-delayed, nearly $2 billion hospital is up and running.

Policy

Better VA Accountability Won't Send Employees Running, Lawmaker Says

The Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee said his new bill to crack down on senior VA executive misconduct won't cause an exodus of talent.

Business

VA Employees Say They Are ‘Prisoners of a System’ They Can’t Change

The future of the VA means fewer facilities, and a hybrid approach to healthcare, VA Secretary Bob McDonald told a congressional panel.

Policy

House Passes Bill Allowing VA Secretary To Claw Back Bonuses

The measure gives the VA secretary yet another tool to punish employees committing misconduct.

Business

Despite Scandal, the VA Has Actually Fired Very Few for Misconduct

Despite declaring a new culture of accountability, the Veterans Affairs Department fired about half the number of workers in 2014 than it did the previous year.