VA Director Denies Being Intentionally Vague Regarding Veterans' Suicide Data, Says E-mail Was 'Unfortunate'

Main Category: Veterans / Ex-Servicemen
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 08 May 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Director Ira Katz on Tuesday during a House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing denied that he was intentionally vague during a committee hearing last year about the high rates of suicide among VA patients, CQ HealthBeat reports (Cooley, CQ HealthBeat, 5/6).

In an e-mail disclosed last month, Katz claimed that 12,000 veterans annually attempt suicide while receiving treatment from the department. Katz in the e-mail wrote, "Shh!" adding, "Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?" The e-mail was released as part of a lawsuit alleging VA is incapable of providing medical services promised to veterans. Statistics provided earlier this year by VA stated that 790 veterans have attempted suicide while under department care, according to Sen. Tom Harkin's (D-Iowa) office (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 4/23).

During the hearing, Katz said the e-mail message was "unfortunate," adding that it "was in poor tone, but the content was a dialogue about what we should do" to attend to high rates of suicides among veterans (CQ HealthBeat, 5/6). He said, "I deeply regret the subject line," adding, "It was an error and I apologize for that" (Hefling, AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/6).

During his opening statement, committee chair Bob Filner (D-Calif.) said that Katz challenged suicide statistics from a CBS news story used in a Dec. 12, 2007, hearing but cited the same statistics in an internal e-mail three days later. He said, "What we see is a pattern" of "bureaucratic cover-ups," adding, "That pattern is deny, deny, deny; then when the facts disagree with that denial, you cover-up, cover-up, cover-up; then when the cover-up falls apart, you admit a little bit of the problem" (CQ HealthBeat, 5/6).

VA Secretary James Peake also testified at the hearing, saying the e-mail "was an unfortunate set of words." He also apologized to Reps. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) and Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.), who said that the VA did not provide them with information and data on veteran suicides (AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/6). Peake said the data discussed in the e-mail about suicide attempts were not released because of concerns about their accuracy (CongressDaily, 5/6).

Jobs in Jeopardy?
Filner during the hearing said Katz and other officials involved should be fired, according to the AP/Houston Chronicle. Last month, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and committee member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) requested Katz resign. After the hearing, Peake said he did not plan to fire Katz or other officials over the e-mails (AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/6). Peake touted the VA's growth under Katz's leadership and noted that he was "interested in increasing the transparency of the VA" (CQ HealthBeat, 5/6). White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said President Bush has "full confidence in Secretary Peake and believes that he is handling (the department) appropriately" (AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/6).

CBS' "Evening News" on Tuesday reported on the hearing. The segment includes comments from committee Chair Bob Filner (D-Calif.), Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake and Ira Katz, director of mental health for the VA (Keteyian, "Evening News," CBS, 5/6).

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