Press Releases

Congressman Jim Banks (IN-03) today led a bipartisan group of 46 Members of Congress in sending a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary David Shulkin that expresses concern over lapsed payments to medical device companies. The letter encourages the agency to address this situation.

The full text of the letter is below and here:

June 28, 2017

The Honorable David Shulkin

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Department of Veterans Affairs

810 Vermont Ave NW Washington, DC 20420

Dear Secretary Shulkin,

 

We write to express our concern at the alarming amount of late payments for medical devices procured by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). With many companies reporting accounts receivable in the millions of dollars, the level of late payments has reached unacceptable levels and is a significant impediment to providing veterans with the care they deserve. It is long past time that this problem is fixed, and we urge the Administration to expedite resolution of this issue.

 

The United States is home to more than 7,000 medical device companies who employ more than 400,000 American workers and invest billions of dollars every year into life-saving technologies. The industry is an invaluable ally in the VA’s mission to provide quality care for our nation’s veterans, providing medical devices ranging from prosthetic limbs to cochlear implants. 

 

VA payments to vendors for goods and services are subject to the Prompt Payment Act, meaning payments can be made no later than 30 days after the invoice date. Despite this requirement, numerous medical device manufacturers have outstanding invoices going back as far as 2013 with accounts receivable in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars. For example, members of the Coalition for Government Procurement have reported as much as $15 million in late payments for replacement knees, replacement hips, spine implants, and cardiac pacemakers/defibrillators provided through the VA Prosthetics Program. Nearly one third of these payments have been delayed for more than 90 days. This number does not include the numerous other companies outside this coalition who have also not been reimbursed by the VA.  

 

Clearly, medical device manufacturers cannot operate in an environment where they are not being compensated for the products they produce. If the VA continues to lag in reimbursing these companies, it runs the risk of depriving veterans of access to these critical technologies and undermines the mission of the department. Unfortunately, medical care has already been impacted, as evidenced in the recent preliminary VA IG Report on the Washington DC VA which describes how a “tray used in surgeries to repair mandibular (jaw) fractures had been removed from the facility due to outstanding invoices from the vendor. Surgical staff informed us that a procedure had to be delayed as a result.”

 

We know that you and President Trump are committed to ensuring that our veterans receive the highest quality care possible, and we ask that you make this a top priority. We are confident that the medical device community is ready to work with the VA and other stakeholders to ensure continued access to these life-saving and life-enhancing technologies, and as Members of Congress we also look forward to working together to address this issue.

 

Sincerely,

 

Rep. Jim Banks

Rep. Walter B. Jones

Rep. Jackie Walorski

Rep. Luke Messer

Rep. Larry Bucshon

Rep. Jack Bergman

Rep. Scott Tipton

Rep. Thomas J. Rooney

Rep. Steve King

Rep. Frank LoBiondo

Rep. Todd Rokita

Rep. Susan Brooks

Rep. Mike Bost

Rep. Mike Gallagher

Rep. Tom Cole

Rep. Ted Budd

Rep. John Rutherford

Rep. Robert Wittman

Rep. Tim Murphy

Rep. J. Luis Correa

Rep. Mimi Walters

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick

Rep. Mike Coffman

Rep. Brian Mast

Rep. Brad Wenstrup

Rep. Will Hurd

Rep. Leonard Lance

Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis

Rep. Aumua Amata C. Radewagen

Rep. Trey Hollingsworth

Rep. Doug Lamborn

Rep. Jodey C. Arrington

Rep. Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S

Rep. Bill Posey

Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón

Rep. Trent Franks

Rep. Bruce Poliquin

Rep. Thomas Massie

Rep. Roger Marshall

Rep. Ted Yoho

Rep. Bob Gibbs

Rep. Scott Taylor

Rep. Josh Gottheimer

Rep. Scott Peters

Rep. Steve Pearce

Rep. John J. Faso

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Interested members of the media may contact Anna Swick at anna.swick@mail.house.gov