VA spokesperson issues clarification on bombshell report claiming doctors can refuse treatment to Democrats

A spokesperson for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has denied a report published in the Guardian that Veterans Administration was changing its policies regarding care delivery to veterans in VA Health facilities. The report suggests that US President Donald Trump's executive order can lead to doctors at the VA denying treatment to unmarried veterans and Democrats. Documents obtained by the Guardian show that hospital new rules, based on Trump’s January 30 executive order, have already gone into effect at some VA medical centers.

The new rule also apply to psychologists, dentists and a host of other occupations, the Guardian report says. However, a VA spokesperson has disputed key facts reported in that article, according to a report in Healthcare Innovation.

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VA on Guardian report

The report says that doctors and medical professionals working for the Department of Veterans Affairs can now refuse to treat Democrats and unmarried veterans. Previously, VA hospital bylaws barred medical staff om discriminating against patients “on the basis of race, age, color, sex, religion, national origin, politics, marital status or disability in any employment matter. But individual workers are now free to decline to care for patients based on personal characteristics not explicitly prohibited by federal law.

However, VA press secretary, Peter Kasperowicz, as not disputing Guardian reporting, stated that “all eligible veterans will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they’ve earned under the law.”

In an emailed statement to The Guardian, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz did not deny that doctors can refuse to treat patients based on their beliefs or that hospitals could fire physicians based on their marital status or political affiliation.

“All eligible veterans will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they’ve earned under the law,” he said in a statement, calling the rule changes a mere “formality.”

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Macaulay Porter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, asserted as "false" the idea that VA hospitals could refuse to treat unmarried veterans and Democrats,

Porter said "federal law prohibits that and VA will always follow federal law". "All eligible Veterans will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they’ve earned under the law," he said.

He also declared false the statement in the Guardian story that doctors and other medical staff could be barred from working at VA hospitals based on their marital status, political party affiliation or union activity stating, “False: federal law prohibits that, and VA will always follow federal law.”

What does the VA policy say?

Health care professionals at the Department of Veterans Affairs can now discriminate against Democrats, the Guardian report said, and this is due to Trump’s anti-trans executive order. While medical staff are still required to treat patients regardless of race, color, religion, or sex, new rules at the VA have explicitly removed protections based on political party affiliation, martial status, and national origin, The Guardian reported Monday.

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Similarly, health care professionals can now be banned from working at the VA over their political affiliation, marital status, and union membership, according to documents obtained by The Guardian.

The new rules apply to a wide range of professionals, including psychologists, dentists, optometrists, chiropractors, certified nurse practitioners, podiatrists, social workers, and speech therapists. It wasn’t immediately clear how the VA made the leap to denying patient care and firing doctors over their political affiliations. Under the new rules, doctors could question veterans about whether they had attended Trump rallies or protests, experts warned.