Organizers of a conference that brings Defense Department and Department of Veterans Affairs[1] health leadership and military medical professionals together to share ideas excluded "independent media" this year, despite having allowed -- and welcomed -- press coverage for more than a decade.
Reporters who tried to sign up to attend the annual meeting of the AMSUS Society of Federal Health Professionals were told that the media was being excluded this year. Those who managed to sign up received emails that their registrations had been canceled.
According to Kenneth McClain, communications director at AMSUS, media registrations were "not available for independent media organizations."
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When pressed for a reason, McClain said that the decision was made at the "request of speakers who want to be able to speak without attribution."
"AMSUS leadership revised the media pass policy in response to new guidelines affecting sessions and speakers," McClain said. "As a nonprofit, we are not part of the federal government, but to best support our speakers, we will honor their request."
McClain did not provide a definition of what AMSUS considers "independent media" or who might attend or provide information from the conference.
The AMSUS conference is one of the few opportunities each year for members of the military and veterans health community, the U.S. Public Health Service, contractors, vendors, the public and the media to learn about developments and research within the Defense Health Agency, the Veterans Health Administration and the Tricare[3] health program.
The decision to exclude the media follows decisions made by the White House to exclude traditional media such as The Associated Press from Oval Office briefings and institute an annual rotation schedule at the Pentagon Press Office that removed outlets such as NBC News, National Public Radio and The New York Times while bringing in outlets favorable to President Donald Trump, including One America News Network and Breitbart.
The decision also follows turmoil in the Defense Department over the provision of medical care for 9.6 million patients and concern among veterans over the future of health care at the VA.
Since Jan. 1, patients who use the Tricare health program have experienced trouble staying with their providers or finding new ones, as well as delays in specialty referrals and care[4] following a change in contract management to TriWest Healthcare Alliance.
In the Tricare East Region, some providers have not been paid in more than eight weeks [5]following a switch in claims processors.
Many military hospitals are short-staffed[6], resulting in long waits for care or referrals to private care in communities that may not have the capacity to handle the patient load.
At the VA, veterans are closely watching efforts to expand community care[7] -- medical services provided to veterans by private physicians but paid for by the VA. While some patients have reported delays in receiving referrals to community care, others want to be seen at the VA and would like to see improvements in VA facilities.
Many of those subjects were to be addressed at various sessions at AMSUS. The top leaders of the Defense Health Agency and Acting VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Steven Lieberman are slated to speak, as are the service surgeons general.
Topics include the future of Army[8], Navy[9] and Air Force[10] medical response; the state of the military health system; quality and safety in the military system; mental health care for service members; veterans suicide prevention; and more.
Nonprofit conferences may not meet a requirement under a law known as the Sunshine Act guaranteeing media access to meetings.
An attorney with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said it was not clear whether the conference would be covered by the act. However, he added, allowing the press access to public functions is "paramount for a transparent and accountable government."
"To prohibit independent media from covering such a consequential convening at a time of such rapid change does a disservice to the goal of keeping the public informed and engaged," wrote Gunita Singh, an RCFP staff attorney, in an email to Military.com.
Related: New App to Let Patients at 5 Military Hospitals Get Access to Health Care Through Their Phones[11]
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