Trump transition team says he’s considering a dramatic overhaul of the VA
Donald Trump speaks briefly to reporters between meetings at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump
is considering creating a “public/private option” for the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a senior official on his
presidential transition team.
The official briefly spoke with reporters on
Wednesday and said Trump had had a meeting earlier in the day about
reforming the agency, which is responsible for providing health care to
American veterans.
“We think we have to have kind of a … public/private
option, because some vets love the VA. … Some vets want to go to the
VA,” the official said.
“So the idea is to come up with a solution that
solves the problem. And it’s not the easiest thing in the world because
you’ve got all these little kingdoms out there, which is hard. You know,
in the federal government it’s hard to break things up and start over.
So those are the types of things that people are talking about,” the
person added.
Trump regularly discussed his desire to improve the
VA during his presidential campaign. The official said Trump’s meeting
on Wednesday was with five people: Dr. Delos Cosgrove, president and CEO
of the Cleveland Clinic; Dr. John Noseworthy, president and CEO of the
Mayo Clinic; Dr. David Torchiana, president and CEO of Partners
HealthCare; Dr. Paul Rothman, dean and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine;
and financial consultant Marc B. Sherman.
“Part the meeting too was: Do we set up an advisory
committee as well with some of these pioneers as part of the committee
to help us navigate through what’s a very complicated process, providing
health care to veterans. These are people that know what they’re
talking about,” said the transition team official.
The official said the five men who met with Trump on
Wednesday could be “a group that could make up an advisory council.”
However, the official noted they “have not formalized anything” The
person described the public/private option as “one of the options on the
table.”
“Definitely an
option on the table to have a system where potentially vets can choose
either or, or all private, or keep it,” said the official. “It’s
definitely on the table.”
Trump also met with former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy
Thompson on Wednesday. The president-elect said that he and
Thompson discussed “very important things, … including the veterans.”
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