With the new year, our nation has seen much change, starting notably, with the swearing-in of President Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States. Shortly after the President took his Oath of Office, officials with Veterans Affairs (VA) noted his newest appointments, which we’ve reported on in the pages of this publication. Many of these appointees are familiar, as they worked in similar roles during Trump’s first go-round as Commander in Chief.
Trump’s appointments haven’t been the only changes in federal medicine since January 20, 2025. Just a day into his presidency, Trump quickly signed an executive order that implemented a “freeze on the hiring of federal civilian employees, to be applied throughout the executive branch,” but just 3 days after that order was signed, officials with the VA announced that there were exemptions to the policy.1 They included a list of those exemptions with the statement, with pharmacists and pharmacy technicians specifically mentioned. Nurses and physicians were not among the listed exemptions. While the freeze is set to last about 3 months, it was unclear as of press time what facets, if any, of that list will change in the coming weeks and months.
In the interim, “VA will always do what is necessary to provide America’s veterans with the benefits and services they have earned. The targeted hiring-freeze exemptions announced today underscore that fact,” VA Director of Media Affairs Morgan Ackley said in a prepared statement.
The President also signed an executive order that is aimed at curtailing gender transitions for people under the age of 19, and specifically directs federally run insurance programs like TRICARE to exclude coverage for such care.
Here at ImPACT, we’ll be reporting online on changes in the federal medicine space as they occur, and we encourage you to stay on top of the latest news by visiting our website, www.impactfederalhealth.com.
In addition to checking us out online, we encourage you to come meet us next month at the AMSUS Annual Meeting. Scheduled for March 3-6, 2025, in National Harbor at the beautiful Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, this meeting, as always, promises to be very informative, with the added bonus of continuing medical education credits.
Director of Client Partnerships Lea Drag and Editorial Director Colleen Hall will be on hand to meet with attendees and discuss ways to address the challenges involved in delivering optimal care to our nation’s heroes. We hope to see you there!
Reference
- Veterans Affairs. VA declares hiring-freeze exemptions [press release]. January 23, 2025. Accessed January 30, 2025. https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-declares-hiring-freeze-exemptions/