dr. clancy. the va has turned over behavioral health autopsies to this committee before, and so ranking member can kuster. >> yes. i just wanted to say for the record, as a health care attorney who's worked in this area for quite a long period of time, in the realm of quality assurance and what the purpose of this type of quality assurance is about, when you go back and look, it's intended for physicians and the medical team to grow and learn from these experiences. and i just want to -- i'm concerned at the impression that might be left with veterans and their families. particularly the family members that have been through the trauma of a suicide that this information would be treated confidentially. these hearings, as we know are televised. it's a very public setting. i think we should get to the bottom, but i don't want to do anything that would have a chilling affect on families that are sharing the most personal aspects. we already have such a strong stigma around mental health and about pe

dr. clancy, you're right what works for one patient may not work for another. and the ranking member certainly has pointed out there are many alternative therapies and what works. and dr. murphy whom i'm sure you know continually complains about when he's at d.o.d. and has a patient stable and then they're separated from the military and they go to the v.a. there's a different formulary. so they then stop all of what he's taken forever to get the patient stable on and they're now on something else. i think that's something that needs to be addressed. he was very adamant about he sees it a lot since he's still in clinical practice. and i, too, with dr. benishek want to associate myself. i think the outburst that you heard was just frustration from probably a veteran who's either tried to get in or couldn't. and mr. o'rourke has every right to be frustrated when he has people lined up outside his office talking about not being able to get in the v.a. let me share why that's frustrating to me. i've been here six years and change on this committee. and we've increas

dr. clancy, you are bright. what works for one patient might not work for another. the ranking member has pointed out alternative theory piece and what works and dr. murphy whom i am sure you know continually complains about the od and has a patient's table and when they are separated from the military and they go to the va, there's a different formulary there so they then stop what is taking forever and they are now on something else. that is something that needs to be addressed. he was very adamant about that. he sees it a lot since he is still in clinical practice. i see with dr. benishek want to associate myself. the outburst you heard was frustration that i tried to get in there and couldn't. mr. a work has every right to be frustrated finance people outlined up outside the office talking about not being able to get in the va. when the shareware that is frustration. i've been here six years and change on the committee. we've increased the budget 74%. it is not money. it is management. it is not the amount of money. there is plenty of money to spend. i don't unde

dr. carolyn clancy. michael valintino. dr. harlot -- herald cutter and randall williamson and the research director for the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. dr. clancy you are recognized for five minutes. >> good morning, chairman coffman, ranking member and members of the subcommittee. one of the most important priorties is at the va is keeping veterans from harm at all times. i am deeply saddened by the tragic outcome involving a veterans veterans. to families here or watching woo who have lost a loved one i want to appreciate my sorrow. we will honor by learning from your cases and improving care. we acknowledge we have more work to do reduce opioid use, meet the increasing demands for mental health and prevent suicides and we have taken significant actions to improve these areas in order to better serve veterans. as ranking member kuster said chronic pain is a national problem affecting a third of the nation's adults population and half of veterans from recent conflicts. as a result a number of veterans and americ

dr. carolyn clancy. interim undersecretary for health for the department of veterans affairs. michael valintino, chief consultant pharmacy services veteran's health administration. dr. herald cutter and randall william son, director of gao's health care team and dr. jacqueline maffucci research director. dr. clancy, you are now recognized for five minutes. >> good morning, chairman coffman, ranking member, and members of the committee. thank you for the opportunity to discuss the overuse of medication medication. one of the most important priorities at the va is keeping veterans from harm at all times. i am deeply saddened by the tragic outcome involving a veterans veterans. to families here or watching woo who have lost a loved one i want to express my sorrow and regret for your loss. i appreciate your sharing your experiences with us and we will honor your loved ones by learning from those experiences xwrfing care for veterans in the future. we acknowledge up front that we have more work to do to reduce opioid use meet the increasing demands for mental health and prevent suic

dr. carolyn clancy, interim undersecretary for health for the department of veterans affairs. mr. michael valentino chief consultant, pharmacy benefits management service, veterans health administration. dr. harold kudler chief consultant, mental health services, veterans health administration. esther randall williamson, director of gao's health care team, and doctor jacqueline maffucci research director for the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. dr. clancy are now recognized for five minutes. >> good morning, mr. chairman coffman, ranking member kuster mbs of the committee. thank you for the opportunity to discuss the overuse of medication and the provision of mental health care to veterans particularly for those at risk of suicide. one of our most important priorities at the agency keep our veterans patients free from harm at all times. i am deeply saddened by the tragic outcome involving a veteran. so the families here today are watching these hearings who have lost a loved one, i want to express my sorrow and regret for your loss. i appreciate you are sharing your experi

dr. carolyn clancy. interim undersecretary for health for the department of veterans affairs. mr. nsultant pharmacy benefits management service veterans health administration. dr. harold kudler chief consultant veterans health administration. mr. randall williamson, director of jao's health care team, and dr. jacqueline -- let's see, maffucci. research director for the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america dr. clancy you are now recognized for five minutes. >> good morning chairman kaufmann ranking member cuss ter, members of the committee thank you for the opportunity to discuss the overuse of medication and the provision of mental health care to veterans particularly those at risk of suicide. one of our most important priorities at v.a. is to keep our patients free from harm at all times. i'm deeply saddened by the tragic outcome involving a veteran, so to families here today, or watching this hearing who've lost a loved one, i want to express my sorrow and regret for your loss. i appreciate your sharing your experiences with us, and we will honor your loved ones by learning f

dr. clancy later told us even one death that could have been avoided is too much. >> something needs to be done to send a strong message that this shouldn't happen again to the veterans out there. >> reporter: this past week, the simcakoski family was in washington. as wisconsin's two senators co-sponsored a bill aimed at preventing overprescription at v.a. hospitals, a bill named after jason simcakoski. ronan farrow, nbc news, tomah, wisconsin. >>> up next, a famous mobster with some words of wisdom. >>> he's one of the most notorious gangsters in history, but now whitey bulger is reflecting on his past and offering advice you might not expect. here's nbc's hallie jackson. >> reporter: from a florida prison cell in careful cursive, one of the most notorious gangsters confesses he took the wrong road. whitey bulger writing, my life was wasted and spent foolishly, brought shame and suffering on my parents and siblings and will end soon. but bulger didn't mail this to the fbi or his victims' families. he sent the letter to three teenage girls. >> we were so shocked when we got the letter. it

dr. clancy later told us even one death that could have been avoided is too much. >> something needs to bee to send a strong message that this shouldn't happen again to the veterans out there. >> reporter: this past week the family was in washington. as with the two senators ko sponsored a bill aimed at preventing overprescription at veterans hospitals. a bill named after jason simcak ♪ every auto insurance policy has a number. but not every insurance company understands the life behind it. ♪ those who have served our nation have earned the very best service in return. ♪ usaa. we know what it means to serve. get an auto insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life. introducing the first ever gummy multivitamin from centrum. a complete, and tasty new way to support... your energy... immunity... and metabolism like never before. centrum multigummies. see gummies in a whole new light. bring us your aching and sleep deprived. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. te

dr. clancy what is the va opinion on alternative forms of treatment? >> first, let me tell you i share your excitement for what division three is doing. we have many thousands of veterans using alternative forms of therapy. there is no aversion. for veterans getting opioids like other americans and some coming to us on active duty the path forward is different. it is not starting from day one. so i love what they are doing in new york. i have spoken with many veterans and have actually begun to thing about using their stories to help those struggling to get off opioids and try alternatives. many of the veterans who take opioids would like not to. but they would like to wake up and it all be okay. the journey there is not so easy. so we actually have -- >> there is a system that we know works. i think one of my colleagues told the story about noah and clearly he was prescribed drugs, no follow-up, no alternative, any therapy, anything like that. the doctor who is in charge of visn-3 she stated -- she made a statement i thought was accurate, she said to

dr. clancy, thank you for addressing the el paso issue and the larger issue within the va to insure you're monitoring those veterans who are going to be coming off of opiates. but, again the feedback stands because i'm hearing it directly from veterans that's apparently not happening in el paso. we both must conclude for every veteran who takes the time to go down to a town hall meeting to tell their congressman they are having this problem and are receiving opiates and are doing without that there are -- that that person represents who have just given up and says why should i bother. we have a problem in el paso, perhaps nationally in terms of ramping people down or finding an alterative therapy to pair it with. i would like you to respond to something that we've heard the secretary say and read about in the press that he's got 28,000 positions to fill in the vha. it's something that under secretary sloan gibson reiterated three weeks ago, four weeks ago in a hearing here. when the ranking member and i and some other members of congress and the senate were in your command and control cent

dr. clancy later told us that even one death that could have been avoided is too much. >> something needst happen again to the veterans out there. >> this past week the family was in washington. as wisconsin's two senators co-sponsored a bill that aims to prevent overprescription at hospitals. there's also an investigation about potential retaliation against whistle blowers at that hospital. that's one pattern we've seen in so many of the investigations that there seems to be a culture of maybe covering things up within the va. a lot they have to answer for. >> nice work. thank you very much. >> and the doctor is still being paid? >> still being paid. >> still on leave with pay. >> you know i unfortunately had experienced in my life that have known people and gone to the type of doctors in different communities and that's what they do call them candy man, dr. roberts, whatever you want to you know whatever waunt to call them. they just write prescriptions. mike 14 medications for this young man who died of an overdose. >> is dr. houlihan's -- did he write each of the 14 prescriptions? >>