VA Policy Changes: Doctors Can Refuse Veteran Care

New policy changes within the Department of Veterans Affairs⁢ (VA) allow ⁤medical staff to decline treating⁢ veteran patients based on personal beliefs. The‍ move sparks⁤ concerns about potential discrimination, particularly against LGBTQ+ and ⁤female veterans.

The updated ⁢regulations, ⁤affecting psychologists, dentists, ⁤and other ‍occupations, are already ⁤in effect at some VA medical centers.⁢ While staff must still treat veterans regardless of race, color, religion, and sex, individual workers can now refuse care ⁤based on‍ characteristics⁤ not⁣ explicitly protected by⁤ federal law.

Specifically, language ⁤requiring healthcare ⁤professionals to treat veterans‍ regardless of their politics and marital status has been removed.‍ Documents show doctors and other staff can be barred from working at VA⁤ hospitals based on marital⁤ status, political affiliation, or union activity. These changes also impact chiropractors, nurse practitioners, optometrists, podiatrists, social workers, and‍ speech‍ therapists.

VA officials cited‍ President Donald Trump’s Jan. 30 ⁤executive order,”Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism ⁢and Restoring Biological truth to the Federal Government,” as the reason for the changes. the order primarily aimed ⁤to strip protections ‍from ⁣transgender people.⁤ The VA has as ceased⁤ providing most gender-affirming care and banned terms⁢ like “gender affirming”⁣ and “transgender” from clinical settings.

Medical experts warn of‍ far-reaching implications. Dr. Kenneth⁣ Kizer,former VA healthcare official during the Clinton administration,said the changes “seem ⁣to open the door to discrimination on‍ the basis of ⁣anything that is not legally protected.” ‍He suggested doctors could refuse care based on reasons for seeking care, such as rape allegations, ‍political affiliation, or personal behavior⁢ like alcohol or marijuana use.

The VA, the nation’s largest integrated hospital system with over 170 hospitals and 1,000 ‍clinics, employs 26,000 doctors and serves 9 million⁢ patients annually.

VA press secretary Peter ⁢Kasperowicz, in an email, did not dispute that the new rules allowed doctors to⁣ refuse treatment based on beliefs or that physicians could be dismissed based on ⁤marital ‍status ⁢or ⁤political ⁣affiliation. He maintained that ⁣”all eligible veterans will always be welcome at VA⁢ and will always receive the benefits and services⁤ they’ve earned under the law.”

Kasperowicz called the rule changes “a formality” made to comply with Trump’s executive⁣ order and “ensure VA policy comports with federal law,” though⁣ he did ⁣not specify which laws required these changes.

Until recently, ⁢VA hospitals’ bylaws prohibited discrimination against patients based on race, age, color, sex, religion, national⁣ origin,⁣ politics, ⁤marital status, or disability. Now, “national origin,” “politics,” and “marital‍ status” have been removed. Similarly, the bylaw on medical staff membership no longer forbids discrimination based on national origin, sexual orientation, marital‍ status, union membership, or political⁤ affiliation.

Dr.Arthur Caplan, head of medical ethics at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, called⁢ the new rules “extremely disturbing and unethical.” He said the rules open‍ the door to doctors questioning ⁣patients about their political activities or ⁣declining care based on a veteran’s views on political figures or⁣ social issues.

“Those views aren’t relevant to caring for⁤ patients. So why would⁤ we put⁢ anyone at risk of losing care that way?” Caplan said.

During his campaign and second term,Trump repeatedly targeted political opponents,calling⁢ journalists and Democrats “the enemy within.”

Veterans fear ⁢the new policy will disproportionately affect female ⁤veterans, LGBTQ+ veterans, and those in rural areas with limited access ⁤to doctors. Tia⁤ Christopher,⁣ a Navy veteran and advocate for ⁤military sexual trauma ⁤survivors, said some veterans may have to travel⁣ hundreds of miles⁢ to receive care.

Sources at VA hospitals, who requested anonymity, told the changes were implemented without consulting doctors, a claim Kasperowicz did not dispute. The American Medical Association (AMA) reaffirmed its commitment to medical staff self-governance and urged healthcare institutions, including the VA, to ensure medical staff approve bylaw amendments.

Caplan said the changes are part of a larger attack on the independence of medicine and science by the Trump administration, citing ⁣restrictions⁣ and cuts at the National Institutes ‍of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.