Agency: Us Department of Veteran Affairs

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the VA system were more likely than those treated in the non-VA/private sector to receive better care for a wide range of indicators from cancer screening to diabetes treatment to inpatient care.

“When a soldier returns from a war or retires from the military taking care of the soldiers does not stop being an integral part of our society. They will and are heroes to a great nation and that they have risked their lives to protect us. Asking millions of Veterans to pay higher copayments on prescriptions that they require for their wellbeing when in some cases they cannot afford. This should be a fully paid benefit that is granted to them for life so they do not have to worry about how they are going to get their prescriptions.”

4. Provide the deadline by which the public comment must be made. (If the date has already passed, please provide when the deadline was.)

Comments were to be made no later than 60 days after July 16, 2015.

5 a. Once you have submitted your comment, what will you are legally entitled to do later in the promulgation process (if you should choose to do so)? (See the textbook’s discussion of the Administrative Procedure Act.)

b. If the proposal passes, identify and explain the five legal theories you could use in an attempt to have (any) administrative regulation declared invalid and overturned in court.

c. Which of these challenges would be the best way to challenge the regulation you selected for this assignment if you wanted to have the regulation overturned, and why?

• The Department of Veteran Affairs has laws that govern them as well. According to the Executive Order 12866, public has a right to participate in the regulatory process. Before issuing a ruling on a proposed policy, each agency is to inform those who will be affected by the policy, when it is feasible to do so. A response to the proposal is required to be made within 60 days of notification. Once his wife was to submit a notification within that time frame, the VA would have to consider my views, as well as others who submitted what they thought of the proposal. It would then be a waiting period, because they have done what they were required to do, and that it to notify all parties involved within the reasonable time outlined in the Executive Order and make all aspects of the proposal accessible. Within 120 days of the order, a preliminary should be submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, so the agency can frequently review for possible changes and addendums that may need to deleted and added.

If the proposal passes, the five legal theories that could be used in an attempt to have administrative regulation declared invalid and overturned in court may include:

• Challenging the proposal based on if it was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse to discretion, or if there was a violation to another law. In this situation, the agency is required to show a proof or might support the evidence of the proposed rule; otherwise the ruling could end up as an arbitrary or capricious act.

• Unsupported evidence, in which thorough supporting evidence has to be submitted.

• Proving general principal regulations were not followed, such as not meeting the requirements of the APA (Administrative Procedure Act), in which the agency did not provide notice, publication, and a specific time is to be allotted for the acceptance of comments to be made regarding the proposal.

• Showing the regulation is unconstitutional, or challenging based on regulations that give agencies authority to search records or that impose discriminatory requirements.

• Challenging with the “Ultra vires” regulation, proving the agency is intending to change the substance and purpose of the enabling through regulation.

How we think that the regulation could be challenged?

The best way to challenge this regulation would be to use the 2nd theory, unsupported evidence. No, the VA does not seem to have participated in arbitrary. They did follow the requirements of the APA. The proposal is not unconstitutional, nor meets the “ultra vires” clause. We do believe that they cannot support the reason as to why there should be an increase. It is stated in the article that Congress has determined that veterans have sufficient resources to pay higher copays, but that can’t be validated, because supported documentation would have to be shown for each individual. Everyone has different circumstances, and when considering who can pay for what, it should definitely not be viewed with “one size fit all” logic.

CONCLUSION:

Also, there certainly are some areas that require improvement in the VA, as there are all health care systems. If you have had a recent experience with a health care system, then you know that there remain far too many glitches in the systems and too little attention to the things that matter most to patients. In the VA, in addition to wait times, there are also issues about how to transition patients from health care in the Department of Defense to health care in Veteran Affairs. The systems ultimately need to be able to communicate. There are also issues with disability claims processing. And clinical care and safety are always areas to improve. These areas are receiving substantial attention because that is the way the VA healthcare system is configured – as a system that is continually focused on how to do better.

References:

http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=298

http://www.va.gov/ORPM/docs/EO_13563_Obama_Jan18_11.pdf