Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Number Of Calls To Veterans' Suicide Hotline Going Unanswered Drops Dramatically
The Hill: VA Secretary: Less Than 1 Percent Of Calls To Suicide Hotline Go Unanswered
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said there has been a sharp decline in the number of veterans who can't get through when they call the department's suicide hotline. A report from the Office of the Inspector General published in March that found nearly a third of calls to the VA crisis hotline were being forwarded to an outside service or just not being answered. (Firozi, 4/24)
In other news on veterans' health care —
Reveal: One Veteran, 9,828 Pills, Still In Pain. Send Pot?
The Department of Veterans Affairs prescribes Joshua Lee a lot of pills – 9,828 a year by his count ... Reached for a response, VA spokesman James Hutton, said there was no way the agency could prescribe marijuana, which remains illegal under federal law. But the VA has been quietly researching marijuana’s viability as a treatment. (Glantz, 4/25)
