WSU to Study Iraq Toxins' Effect
Spokesman-Review
by Bert Caldwell
Research to examine how exposure might damage offspring of soldiers
Washington State University scientists will use a $1.7 million grant to study what multi-generation genetic damage might be done by toxins U.S. troops could encounter in Iraq.
The research using laboratory rats, not humans, will be the first for the military to examine the epigenetic effects of pesticides, herbicides and other compounds, said lead scientist Michael Skinner, director of the university's Center for Reproductive Biology.
Previous studies have looked at the health effects of other substances, notably the Agent Orange used to defoliate jungles in Vietnam, on the soldiers directly exposed, he said, not on their children or grandchildren.
"The science really had not caught up with the trans-generational stuff," said Skinner, one of several WSU pioneers in the field of epigenetic, or multi-generational, inheritance.
Besides herbicides and pesticides – which and in what combinations has not been determined – the study also will look at the effects of explosives residues, he said.
The four-year study will allow researchers to see how any changes in genetic chemistry that develop are passed along through two subsequent generations of rats, he said, noting that only the first two years of research have been funded.
Among the problems that might develop are kidney disease, or changes in the male and female reproductive organs, he said.
If any genetic markers are identified in rats, Skinner said, follow-up research could look at whether they might show up among members of the military as well.
That would be of particular interest to Dave Holmes, interim chief operating officer of the Institute for Systems Medicine, which was awarded the U.S. Department of Defense grant passed through to Skinner.
Holmes' son, Tim Hammond, did two tours in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps.
"They sprayed all kinds of stuff on them," Holmes said.
Although the grant money, the first awarded ISM, will fund work in Pullman, he said the organization's supporters hope any subsequent clinical studies will be done in Spokane.
"There's a lot of excitement about making it happen," he said.
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VAOIG: VA'S FEE CARE PROGRAM SUBJECT TO MASSIVE FRAUD
The VA's Fee Program could be paying between $114 million and $380 million annually for fraudulent claims.
by Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org
Review of Fraud Management for the Non-VA Fee Care Program -- Report Number 10-00004-166, 6/8/2010 | Summary | Report (PDF)
A startling statement from this report:
... VHA has not established controls designed to prevent and detect fraud for its Fee Program. VHA had not established fraud management controls primarily because it had not identified fraud as a significant risk to the Fee Program.
With fraud rampant in Medicare and Medicaid programs, it never occurred to anyone at the VA that this could be happening to them, too?
Report Highlights are posted below.
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Report Highlights: Review of Fraud Management for the Non-VA Fee Care Program
Why We Did This Review
The Veterans Health Administration's (VHA's) Non-VA Fee Care Program pays non-VA medical providers to treat eligible veterans when medical services are not available at VA facilities or in emergencies when delays are hazardous to life or health. Annual fee care payments in this program have grown from about $1.6 billion in FY 2005 to about $3.8 billion in FY 2009. This review continues our assessment of non-VA fee care by evaluating the effectiveness of Fee Program fraud management.
The VA Office of Inspector General's Audit of Veterans Health Administration’s Non-VA Outpatient Fee Care Program (Report 08-02901-185, August 3, 2009) concluded that VHA had overpaid outpatient fee claims in FY 2008 by $225 million.
What We Found
Federal law requires agencies to maintain controls that safeguard their assets against fraud; however VHA has not established controls designed to prevent and detect fraud for its Fee Program. VHA had not established fraud management controls primarily because it had not identified fraud as a significant risk to the Fee Program. Yet VHA’s Fee Program is not significantly different from other health care programs that have identified numerous cases of fraud.
More important, VHA lacks a system for determining the risk of Fee Program fraud. Yet, health care industry experts have estimated that 3 to 10 percent of all health care claims involve fraud and the Fee Program faces risks similar to other health care payment programs. In effect, the VHA Fee Program could be paying between $114 million and $380 million annually for fraudulent claims.
What We Recommended
We recommended that the Under Secretary for Health establish a fraud management program that includes such fraud controls as data analysis and high-risk payment reviews, system software edits, employee fraud training, and fraud awareness and reporting.
Agency Comments
The Under Secretary for Health agreed with our finding and recommendation and plans to complete all corrective actions by October 30, 2010. We consider these planned corrective actions acceptable and will follow up on their implementation.
(original signed by Linda A. Halliday,
Deputy Assistant Inspector General
for Audits and Evaluations for:)
BELINDA J. FINN
Assistant Inspector General
for Audits and Evaluations
