AFGE Launches Operation Project HERO Watch

As thousands of service members return home from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the lingering effects of wounds seen and unseen will continue to have dramatic affects on their lives and the lives of their families and communities for years to come. As these new veterans return home with complex injuries, the healthcare providers in the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Administration are working with limited resources to meet their needs and the needs of aging veterans from previous wars and conflicts.

President Obama, Veterans Affairs Secretary Shinseki, and Congress have made significant steps in the right direction by providing additional funding for healthcare services and expanding the VA’s operating budget by $25 billion over the next 5 years. However, the Veterans Affairs has continued a troubling trend, increasing the amount of veterans healthcare turned over to the private sector, jeopardizing the strength and vitality of the Veterans Affairs.

Through a program known as Project HERO, the Veterans Affairs has turned over nearly 30 percent of its healthcare services over to, for-profit healthcare giant HUMANA. When the Veterans Affairs commenced Project HERO, it was intended to be a pilot project that utilized contract care for the stated objective of “contract care coordination”, i.e. new strategies for “arranging and managing care” for a “substantial patient population”. However, unlike the statutory authority for contract care provided by Congress in 1986, Project HERO was created  merely on the basis of report language (specifically, 1966 words/25 lines inserted in the Conference Report for the FY 2006 Veterans Affairs appropriations law. In addition to the absence of authorizing legislation, Project HERO lacks any supporting appropriations legislation even though it is causing a significant shift in expenditures of VA patient care dollars.

On October 1, 2007, the Veterans Affairs awarded HERO contracts to Humana Veterans Healthcare Services to deliver medical/surgical, mental health, diagnostics, and dialysis services and Delta Dental Federal Services to deliver dental care to Veterans Affairs facilities in 4 service areas Veterans Integrated Service Networks 8, 16, 20 and 23 covering 23 states. The contracts are for one year with four option years; the first pilot year ended on September 30, 2008. Currently, HERO is most active in VISN 23 (Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota, and Nebraska).

Early reports from VA health care providers in all affected VISNs indicate that HERO is moving forward with very limited transparency or accountability. In VISN 23, where the HERO pilot is the most developed, reports also suggest that the HERO contractor may be acting inconsistently with the letter and spirit of 38 USC § 1703 by taking over functions that could still be provided within the Veterans Affairs, and providing less that acceptable levels of access or quality of care and causing dissatisfaction among veteran patients opposed to non-VA referrals.

As the voice of the frontlines in the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Administration, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is launching Operation Project HERO Watch to monitor the program and to educate AFGE members, lawmakers and the public about the impact of Project HERO on the ground.

Whether you are a Veterans Affairs health care clinician, a veteran receiving care, or a Project HERO provider make sure your voice is heard.

Visit our Operation Project HERO Watch Message page and keep us informed.