More whistleblowers detail VA abuses, suffer retaliation

The allegations of wait times, delayed care for veterans and cooked books began in Phoenix, but new revelations by two more Veterans Affairs whistleblowers in two different states suggest the VA problems are endemic.
“What really bothered me was that this delay was a direct result of this extremely low sense of caring for the patient,” said Dr. Jose Mathews, the chief psychiatrist for the VA Medical Center in St. Louis starting in Nov 2012.
Mathews and another whistleblower in Texas detailed their concerns to Fox News.
According to Mathews, he noticed that the doctors he oversaw who were responsible for seeing veterans with post-traumatic stress and other acute mental health issues were working just a few hours a day. They were seeing about half the patients they could, Mathews alleged in a federal whistleblower complaint filed last year. Meanwhile, there were mounting suicides among veterans being treated at his facility -- and officially, the St. Louis VA was reporting to its headquarters in Washington that its productivity was among the highest in the nation.
“They all got bonuses -- that's the sad part. Because in reality we were not really doing a good job, but it shows up on paper as if we are,” Mathews told Fox News.
When Mathews complained, he was removed from his job, assigned to an isolated office to oversee pensions and compensation. He was told not to contact the other doctors or patients.
“I think they have some form of moral blindness or something. They're not able to see that this is not right, what they're doing is not right,” said Mathews, a soft-spoken psychiatrist who says the veterans would have to wait a month or more for mental health treatment.
Spokesman Paul Sherbo, of the St. Louis VAMC, said in a written statement: “The St. Louis VA Medical Center leadership is aware of and is addressing the alleged issues. VA is committed to providing the best quality of care that all our nation's Veterans need and deserve."
A second whistleblower -- from Harlingen, Texas – Dr. Richard Krugman accused the VA facility he oversaw in southeast Texas of delaying life-saving colonoscopies in order to cut costs. He provided a memo from his boss from 2011 outlining the shift in policy. He, too, was fired.
“I was treated like an animal. I was treated like a leper. I was treated like, how dare you attack me, or how dare you say what you're saying,” said Krugman, a former associate chief of staff at the Veterans Affairs health care system.
He argued that his boss told them to require three successive fecal occult blood tests before sending the patient for a colonoscopy, a delay that could cause potential colon cancer to go from a treatable stage 1 to a deadly stage 4, if unaddressed.
His boss -- now a VA director in Texas -- pushed back, issuing the following response:
"Allegations such as the [VA] stopped sending patients for colonoscopies because the agency could not afford non-VA care and instead utilized a fecal occult blood test instead of colonoscopies was not substantiated" by the independent Office of Special Counsel that investigated Krugman’s charges and closed the case last November, according to the statement provided by Jeff Milligan, former director of VA Texas Valley health network. Krugman disputed the claim.
The Office of Special Counsel found none of Krugman's claims to be substantiated. But when it closed the case, it admitted in a report and letter written to President Obama last November that it was forced to rely on an internal investigation carried out by the VA itself. It did not have the ability to independently investigate Krugman’s claims. The investigative panel assigned to get to the bottom of Krugman’s allegations was appointed by VA Under Secretary of Health Robert Petzel, who resigned Friday.
As first reported by Fox News last September, Petzel told congressional oversight committee members he had “no regrets” about awarding $63,000 in bonuses to hospital administrators in Pittsburgh after more than five veterans died of preventable Legionnaire’s disease contracted at a VA facility. 
“What I really got upset about was, over the last couple of weeks, everybody is now saying, ‘Oh, I never knew that. Oh, I didn't see that,” Krugman said in an interview with Fox News. “The reports have been there since 2010, 2011, and each article, or each new material that I received, I purposely sent to those different gentlemen, with a backup copy, just so that they can't say, ‘Oh, I never knew this, or I never knew that because every time that they say, ‘I don't know this or I don't know that,’ somebody else dies.”
Veterans' groups met in Washington this week to call for secure hotlines so that more whistleblowers feel they can come forward and not face retaliation.
Jennifer Griffin currently serves as a national security correspondent for FOX News Channel . She joined FNC in October 1999 as a Jerusalem-based correspondent.

Who got $$ from Brunei's Islamic law government? The Clinton Foundation

As Hollywood hotshots protest the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel over its ownership by Brunei's sultan -- and his recent full-fledged embrace of Islamic law -- it turns out the Brunei government has financial connections to another American institution: The Clinton Foundation. 
The nonprofit foundation lists Brunei alongside Kuwait, Oman and Qatar as donors that gave between $1 million and $5 million through last year. The foundation confirmed the donation from Brunei was made in 2002, in connection with the construction of the Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas. 
"The Clinton Foundation's impact would not be possible without the generous support of our donors," the foundation's website reads. "Their contributions have made a difference in the lives of tens of millions across the world."
The contribution could prove an uncomfortable detail in the foundation's financial records, particularly as Hillary Clinton weighs a possible presidential run. Though The Clinton Foundation has thus far avoided any major controversy over the matter, a Brunei connection has caused headaches for the Beverly Hills Hotel on the other side of the country.
Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has come under heavy criticism since the ultra-wealthy leader, who has been in power for decades, embraced a harsh Islamic penal code for his southeast Asian nation of roughly 408,000 residents. The change would make adultery, abortion and same-sex relationships offenses punishable by ancient methods -- flogging, or even stoning. 
The development led Beverly Hills’ city council to unanimously pass a resolution calling for Brunei to change its laws or divest its ownership of the iconic hotel property, which opened in 1912 and has since been designated a historic landmark. Affectionately known as the “Pink Palace,” the hotel boasts 208 rooms over 12 acres, including a presidential suite for $20,000 nightly and a seven-day minimum stay. 
A growing number of Hollywood groups and luminaries have since relocated events typically held at the hotel in protest, including the International Women’s Media Foundation and the Barbara Davis Carousel of Hope. Celebrities including Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres have also called for boycotts of the hotel.
“This is 2014, not 1814,” Leno, the former “Tonight Show” host, told dozens of protesters earlier this month.
Leno told The Los Angeles Times that local residents had been too absorbed by the controversy surrounding Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his remarks on race to properly pay attention to the Brunei developments. 
“I mean, we get so upset when a team owner says something inappropriate,” Leno told the newspaper. “Here are people being killed, stoned to death. ... It's just a matter of priorities, that's what it is.”
It's unclear whether the Clinton Foundation would consider returning its own Brunei donation, but a statement from the foundation said it does not anticipate any more. 
"The Foundation received a one-time donation from the government of Brunei in 2002. We have not received any additional donations from them since, and we do not expect any in the future," the statement said. 
In total, the Clinton Foundation has received at least $492 million since its inception in 1997 through 2007. Other notable names or entities within the high-donation bracket include filmmaker Steven Spielberg, the Boeing Company and The Walmart Foundation.
Meanwhile, the Beverly Hills Hotel reportedly tapped a former Clinton aide to perform damage control in the growing saga. Mark Fabiani, known for his aggressive style during the Clinton administration, was hired last week to oversee crisis management, Politico reported.
In 2008, the Clinton Foundation disclosed the names of its 205,000 donors, ending a decade of resistance to identifying the sources of its money. Some 12,000 donors gave $10 or less, while at least $46 million was received from Saudi Arabia (which also imposes strict Islamic law), Norway and other foreign governments. 
The New York Times reported recently on alleged financial issues at the foundation, and said Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton were readying for a $250 million fundraising push.

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Amid Protests, FCC Advances Net Neutrality' Regulations

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday moved forward with new regulations regarding so-called net neutrality, voting to advance rules that could have far-reaching implications on how Internet content is delivered and how much consumers pay to have it delivered.
The new regulations, if approved after a four-month period of comment and review, could allow big Internet service providers such as Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) to charge more for faster and more efficient delivery of content.
The vote was along party lines, with Democratic appointees Tom Wheeler, the chairman, Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel approving the effort to develop new rules they argue will keep the Internet “open.” The FCC vote comes in the wake of two recent court rulings that struck down past FCC efforts to impose regulations on the Internet.
Republican appointees Ajit Pai and Michael O'Reilly voted against moving forward with the new regulations, saying the proposal reaches beyond the scope of the FCC’s responsibilities. Pai said if new regulations are needed, Congress should legislate them.
The vote  kicks off a 120-day rulemaking process, with public comments due July 15.
Responding to vocal public opposition to his proposal, Wheeler defended the new regulations, saying they are intended to preserve an “open” Internet and would prevent discrimination of content.
“There is one Internet. It must be fast, it must be robust, it must be open,” Wheeler said in comments prior to the vote. “The prospect of a gatekeeper choosing winners and losers is unacceptable. I will not allow the national asset of an open Internet to be compromised.”
Critics of the proposal, which include consumer activist groups and a large swath of web content and service providers, say approval of the plan would create a two-tiered Internet, where deep-pocketed companies could pay for better service and start-ups would be left behind.
The critics say the FCC’s proposal would create a “fast lane” and a “slow lane” on the Internet.
“Giving ISPs the green light to implement pay-for-priority schemes will be a disaster for startups, nonprofits and everyday Internet users who cannot afford these unnecessary tolls. These users will all be pushed onto the Internet dirt road, while deep-pocketed Internet companies enjoy the benefits of the newly created fast lanes,” Craig Aaron, president of activist group Free Press said in a recent statement.
Wheeler released a draft of his plan last month, but then revised it after a number of tech companies including Google (GOOG) and Netflix (NFLX) as well as two FCC commissioners criticized the plan for dividing the Internet into slow and fast lanes.
The plan, according to the critics, would eliminate net neutrality -- the principle that all traffic on the Internet should be treated equally.
The revised draft doesn’t allow companies to prioritize content delivery and includes language that ensures providers don't unfairly put nonpaying companies' content at a disadvantage.
The decision is likely to face legal challenges.
The FCC’s meeting in Washington drew hundreds of protesters, rare for a vote by the federal regulatory agency and an indication of the broad ramifications and strong emotions surrounding the issue.
The opponents of the FCC proposal support converting ISPs into utilities like telephone companies that would be subject to even greater government regulation.
Most Republicans in Congress say further regulations on the web would curb investment and stifle innovation.
George Foote, a Washington-based attorney who has represented telecommunications companies in regulatory cases, said the revisions proposed by Wheeler would protect and ultimately benefit Internet users.
“The whole debate about net neutrality has been hijacked by self-interest and sidetracked by a poor metaphor,” he said. “If service is to be upgraded in the future, who pays for the improvement? If the new policy strengthens the FCC’s hand to prevent discrimination in favor of affiliated companies, who is to complain?”
Last week 100 Internet companies, including powerhouses Google, Facebook (FB), Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo (YHOO), signed a letter voicing opposition to the proposal.
The companies advocated for a “free and open Internet,” suggesting the proposed rules could create an Internet where larger, wealthier companies would have a distinct advantage over smaller companies.

Reports of workers paid to do nothing spurs calls for probe of ObamaCare contractor

Several lawmakers are calling for an investigation into reports that employees at a center processing applications for health insurance under ObamaCare were paid to do nothing.
Missouri television station KMOV-TV reported Monday that data entry workers at a Serco Inc. office in Wentzville spent days staring at their computer. The company was awarded up to $1.25 billion to process applications for health insurance through the health care law.
Republican Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee sent a letter Wednesday to Marilyn Tavenner, administrator for the federal government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in response to the report. 
"We are concerned Serco may have much less work than was expected when CMS awarded the contract, and may not be successfully completing the applications it has received," the senators wrote in the letter. 
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., whose district includes Wentzville, wrote to Tavenner separately along with several other congressional lawmakers looking into whether there should be an investigation.
"It is imperative that we fully understand the role of CMS and any potential role played by the Department of Health and Human Services in this matter," read the letter also signed by Missouri GOP Reps. Sam Graves, Vicky Hartzler, Billy Long, Ann Wagner and Jason Smith.
Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, a supporter of the Affordable Care Act, has also asked for an investigation. 
KMOV-TV first reported the story, citing a whistleblower who said employees were told to "sit at their computers and hit the refresh button every 10 minutes" as they waited for applications to process. The company is reportedly continuing to hire new employees at its facilities.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday quoted former Serco worker Lavonne Takatz as saying workers had so little to do that she played board games. Others slept, she said. It wasn't immediately clear if Takatz was the same employee who spoke with KMOV.   
"I feel guilty for working there as long as I did," Takatz, 42, told the newspaper. "It was like I was stealing money from people."
She did not respond to messages seeking comment from The Associated Press.
Based in Great Britain, Serco employs 100,000 people worldwide, including 9,000 in the U.S.
The Wentzville facility has 660 employees and is one of three contracted to process paper applications; the others are in Arkansas and Kentucky.
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that it is committed to working with Serco and other contractors "to ensure that federal funds are spent appropriately and performance expectations are clear and monitored closely.
"We closely monitor the work Serco is doing relative to the number of employees they have, and we are confident that the balance is appropriate," it said.
In a statement Thursday, Serco did not address the Wentzville facility specifically but said that after securing the processing contract, it "set up operation centers and hired the necessary workforce to process paper applications and exemption requests, verify information, resolve conflicts of information, and obtain missing information."
"From October 1 through the end of April, our workforce has processed more than 1 million documents and made 1.4 million outbound phone calls to applicants. As in any business or major program there are peaks and valleys as the various tasks stop and start," the company said. "The number of staff Serco has working on the Marketplace is reviewed on a regular basis by CMS and any adjustments are made to ensure tasks are successfully completed in the most efficient manner."
The senators expressed concern that Serco "may have much less work than was expected" when it was awarded the contract, and that the company may not be successfully completing applications it receives. They asked Tavenner to respond by May 30.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.