psas and pva generally supports the oig recommendations. these recommendations provide not only an opportunity to improve upon prosthetic services for veterans for amputations but for all veterans who utilize va prosthetic services. the oig's key evaluations and assessments are taking place at a key turning point. the organization is undergoing a structural reorganization that directly impacts the delivery of prosthetic services to veterans. today i'll limit my remarks to this reorganization. under the current changes, va prosthetics will no longer be solely responsible for managing the purchases of prosthetic items. rather the va is currently implementing a joint purchasing structure that includes making prosthetic purchases. while the va reports this change will result in increased oversight and review of prosthetic orders, pva is concerned the track has potential to create delays in the delivery of items to veterans. pva is further concerned the new system will lead to less va accountability for veterans during the ordering and deliverin

pva reached out to psas leadership on several occasions to identify the status of the reorganization and appreciates the opportunity to provide input. while we have been informed that the dual purchase system was piloted in three networks beginning january 2012 and will be further implemented in additional areas in july 2012 we're not aware how the va intends to make sure veterans are aware of the changes. they encourage the leadership to consult with veterans and their families as well as stakeholders who regularly work with the prosthetic offices. pva further recommends the va regularly update the committee with the findings compiled as a result of the pilots implemented in january 2012 as well as future findings as plans move forward. lastly, the office of procurement and logistics is governed by va policies of va acquisition. such policies are noent address the purchasing of various items within va. pva would like to make certain the change to the office of procurement and logistics managing the cost of prosthetics does not lead to a standardization of items such as artificial li

officers do not change what the clinician prescribed but actually, in testimony we heard earlier from pva, that is not the case, that their testimony states that contract officers when they do receive the orders, the request for the devices is modified and even denied in cases because of the cost. so that is a huge concern. there seem to be a disconnect from what you're hearing versus what the vsos are hearing because that is not the case. the cost is a factor. it's not the veterans' health care. so do you want to comment on that? >> yes, sir. thank you. first of all, contracting officers, all contracting officers do have a mandate under federal acquisition regulations to ensure that there's a price reasonableness aspect to the cost we are providing. i don't know if that is a concern or not. can't really speak to what may have happened before but i have put out to the contracting community that under 8123, if a contract -- if the contracting office receives a physician's consult for a specific product, we will do due diligence to ensure we pay a fair and reasonable price for that product