Federal laws protecting medical confidentiality of a patient who committed suicide were broken in a clumsy attempt by Department of Veterans Affairs officials to deflect criticism from an Arizona congresswoman, a veterans’ advocacy group charged Friday.
“It seems there is no limit to how low the VA will go to cover its culpability in patient deaths,” said Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America.
“The VA hides behind privacy regulations when questioned by the press, and even uses them to silence whistleblowers, but then has no problem surreptitiously leaking the same information to undermine one of their critics when it serves their purposes.”
At issue is a story that appeared Friday in the Arizona Republic about a campaign ad run by Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., touting her efforts to aid the parents of a combat veteran who committed suicide in June 2013 after seeking help from the VA.
In response to the ad, Glenn Costie, acting director of the Phoenix VA health system, sent a Sept. 4 email to hospital staff detailing “the rest of the story.”
Costie said the veteran, Daniel Somers, was using a private healthcare provider at the time of his death. Costie’s email included private medical information, which is illegal to disclose publicly.
The Costie memo was leaked to the Republic, which did not identify its source, but VA confirmed its authenticity.
The widening scandal over falsified appointment lists to hide long delays in delivering care publicly erupted in Phoenix last April.
Charges of widespread falsification of patient records nationwide have since been confirmed by the agency’s inspector general.
Costie replaced Sharon Helman, who was removed from the post in May. VA officials say they have begun proceedings to fire Helman, but she remains on the payroll while on administrative leave.
