Questions Raised About Sen. Dean Heller’s Support Of Unproven ‘Brainwave’ Treatment For Veterans
The company marketing the treatment has connections to Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) The Trump administration is encouraging the VA to use more alternative treatments, even though doctors and mental health experts caution against steering patients to procedures that haven’t been scientifically demonstrated to be safe and effective.
ProPublica:
GOP Senator Pushed VA To Use Unproven “Brainwave Frequency” Treatment
Sen. Dean Heller, a Nevada Republican, pushed doctors at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Reno to adopt an experimental mental health treatment marketed by a company with ties to his office. On a Friday night last December in his Reno office, Heller, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, introduced VA officials to representatives from a health care startup called CereCare. (Arnsdorf, 10/17)
In other veterans' health care news —
Reuters:
U.S. Prepares For Biggest-Ever Agent Orange Cleanup In Vietnam
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday visited a former American air base in southern Vietnam that will soon become the biggest-ever U.S. cleanup site for contamination left by the defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Standing near a skull-and-crossbones warning sign meant to keep people away from toxic soil, Mattis was briefed by Vietnamese officials about the massive contamination area. (Stewart, 10/17)
WBUR:
VA Struggles To Reach Other-Than-Honorable-Discharge Vets In Need Of Help
Onan is one of the thousands of veterans who have other-than-honorable (OTH) discharges. They don't typically qualify for VA benefits, even though many have service-related trauma. And as a group they have a high suicide rate. To address that, the VA last summer started a new program. It allows OTH vets to come into the VA to receive mental health care, at least for 90 days. (Walsh, 10/18)
