A new report from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General alleges VA Secretary David Shulkin, MD, misrepresented his activities during a trip to Europe last July that cost at least $122,334.
Here are five things to know about the report.
1. Michael Missal, the VA inspector general, alleges Dr. Shulkin's nine days in Copenhagen, Denmark, and London "included significant personal time for sightseeing and other unofficial activities" in addition to meetings with various veteran's officials in each country. In total, Mr. Missal estimates there were only three and a half days of meetings.
2. The report cites email records to allege VA Chief of Staff Vivieca Wright Simpson purposefully misled ethics officials to pay travel expenses for Dr. Shulkin's wife, Merle Bari, MD. Ms. Wright Simpson initially asked staff to request the department ethics office designate Dr. Bari as an "invitational traveler," which would lead the VA to cover her travel expenses.
The ethics committee initially denied this request, but Ms. Wright Simpson then altered details of an email that proposed a possible dinner honoring Dr. Shulkin in Denmark to make it appear the dinner was confirmed, which would be just cause to designate Dr. Bari as an invitational traveler. After she forwarded this email to ethics officials, they approved the request.
3. Mr. Missal alleges Dr. Shulkin and Dr. Bari improperly accepted tickets to the Wimbledon tennis tournament from a British woman they claimed was a friend of Dr. Bari's. However, when the woman was questioned by Mr. Missal's office, she was not able to recall Dr. Bari's name, leading officials to conclude the gift of the tickets was unethical.
4. Dr. Shulkin allegedly directed the misuse of a subordinate's official time by asking his staff to help plan leisure activities for him and his wife, while also inadequately documenting the accuracy and appropriateness of the trip's costs. In a September statement to The Washington Post, Dr. Shulkin said VA ethics officials had reviewed all activities on the trip, though they had not.
5. The report recommends Dr. Shulkin reimburse the VA for the cost of Dr. Bari's airfare and reimburse the price of the Wimbledon tickets to the woman who gave them to him. It also suggests the VA take administrative action against Ms. Wright Simpson and reassess its training related to the ethics of travel planning and gifts.