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Some question his ability to manage a massive bureaucracy WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's selection off his White House doctor to run the massive Department of Veterans Affairs triggered concern Thursday among veterans groups about whether he has the experience to manage an agency paralyzed over Trump's push to expand private care. Ronny Jackson, a Navy rear admiral entrusted with the health of the past three presidents, is a lifelong physician whose positions on privatizing operations in the second largest federal department and addressing ballooning health care costs are unknown. First named to the top White House post by President Barack Obama, he would be new to running a big bureaucracy if given leadership over a department of 360,000 employees serving 9 million veterans. In a statement, Trump praised Jackson as "highly trained and qualified."  But representatives of veterans aren't sold on the choice, or on Trump's decision a day ea

Report:  Patients were put at risk Watchdog blames 'failed leadership' for hospital problems WASHINGTON - "Failed leadership" at the Department of Veterans Affairs during the Obama years put patients at a major hospital at risk, an internal probe finds - another blow to Secretary David Shulkin, who served at the VA then and is fighting to keep his job. The 150-page report released Wednesday by the VA internal watchdog offers new details to its preliminary finding last April of patient safety issues at the Washington, DC ., medical center. Shulkin acknowledged to reporters that the problems were "systemic," but said he was not aware of issues at the Washington hospital.  He pledged wide-scale change across the VA. Painting a grim picture of communications breakdowns, chaos and spending waste at the government's second largest department, the report found that at least three VA program offices directly under Shulkin's watch knew o

Q:  We've owned our home for several years.  We're in our 40s and do not look forward to making mortgage payments for the next three decades.  Is now the right time to refinance and switch to a 15-year-mortgage? A:  Going from a 30-year mortgage to a 15-year term has some attractions.  For one thing the potential interest cost for the loan is significantly lower.  As a example, imagine you borrow $200,000 at 4 percent over 30 years.  The potential interest cost is $143,739 versus $66,288 for 15-years mortgage with the same initial balance at the same rate. The lower potential interest cost associated with a 15-year mortgage is not free.  It's achieved by having a higher monthly payment.  For example, the 30-year note will have a much smaller monthly payment for principle and interest:  $954.83 vs. $1,479.38 for the shorter loan. In practice, one would expect the rate of a 15-year mortgage to be roughly .75 percent lower than the rate lenders want for a standard 30-y