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The ongoing debate over the cost of prescription drugs took another twist as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT.) has asked the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to use emergency powers to break – or override – the patents on high-priced hepatitis C medicines sold by several drug makers, including Gilead Sciences. The new hepatitis C treatments cure more than 90% of those infected and, in the U.S., cost from $63,000 to $94,500, depending upon the drug and regimen, before any discounts. Gilead markets Sovaldi and Harvoni, while AbbVie sells Viekera Pak. (Silverman, 5/12)

A top Department of Veterans Affairs official asked senators Tuesday to pass legislation that would allow the agency to shift some funds for private, non-VA care to pay for expensive hepatitis C drugs and further adjust eligibility criteria for a program that Congress created last year known as the Choice program. Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson presented the requests to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee at a hearing Tuesday afternoon. (Adams, 5/12)

Lawmakers from both parties said Tuesday they will not divert money from a new health care law to pay for a half-finished hospital in Denver that now is expected to cost more than $1.7 billion — nearly triple an estimate the Department of Veterans Affairs gave last year. The VA is asking Congress to redirect $730 million from the new Veterans Choice Act to complete the long-delayed hospital. The law was passed last year in response to a scandal over long waiting times for veterans seeking health care and falsified records to cover up the delays. (5/12)

When Donald Siefken drove up to the Seattle VA hospital emergency room earlier this year with a broken foot, all he asked for was a little help getting inside. Instead, a hospital employee who answered Siefken’s cellphone call told him to call 911 himself, then hung up on him, Siefken said. Frustrated to tears, the 64-year-old retired truck driver and Army vet from Kennewick placed the emergency call while parked just feet away from the ER entrance. (Kamb, 5/12)

In an effort to retain talented women, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus will unveil a proposal Wednesday that calls for doubling the amount of paid maternity leave that sailors and Marines can take to 12 weeks. Mabus will detail the proposal during a speech at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, according to a senior Navy official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to disclose the proposal ahead of the official announcement. (Vergakis, 5/12)