Ongoing VA Health Care Troubles Highlighted In Obama’s Proposals For Veterans
While progress has been made in improving benefits, President Barack Obama said "I am still not satisfied" during a Veterans Day speech. To address the long wait vets face for medical services, Republicans have been increasingly supporting the privatization of the VA health system. But some veterans groups have concerns about the idea.
CNN:
Obama Touts Progress For Vets But Says More Needs To Be Done
In commemorating Veterans Day on Wednesday, President Barack Obama said his administration was improving care for veterans but said more needs to be done. (Goldin, 11/11)
The Huffington Post:
Why Veterans Groups Are Worried About Privatization Of The VA
Top Republicans’ growing support for privatization of the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system is frightening some veterans groups. These veterans advocates acknowledge the urgency of reform at the notoriously backlogged and scandal-ridden VA. But they do not believe private insurance or medical care is capable of accommodating veterans’ specific needs, and maintain that a voucher program for purchasing care outside the VA system will inevitably fall short of veterans' expenses. (Marans, 11/11)
Fox News:
VA Chief Says System Improving But Critics Cite Continued Problems
Eighteen months after a scandal first surfaced at the Phoenix VA involving falsified wait times and patient deaths, the Veteran's Administration has not fired a single employee there for wait time manipulation. Department-wide, only three have been fired. (McKelway, 11/11)
In related news, Veterans Affairs employees received $142 million in bonuses in 2014, the year that the wait-time scandal flared -
USA Today:
Veterans Affairs Pays $142 Million In Bonuses Amid Scandals
The Department of Veterans Affairs doled out more than $142 million in bonuses to executives and employees for performance in 2014 even as scandals over veterans' health care and other issues racked the agency. Among the recipients were claims processors in a Philadelphia benefits office that investigators dubbed the worst in the country last year. They received $300 to $900 each. Managers in Tomah, Wis., got $1,000 to $4,000, even though they oversaw the over-prescription of opiates to veterans – one of whom died. The VA also rewarded executives who managed construction of a facility in Denver, a disastrous project years overdue and more than $1 billion over budget. (Slack and Theobald, 11/11)
The Hill:
VA Officials Got $142M In Bonuses Amid Scandal
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials collected more than $142 million in bonuses in 2014, the same year the agency was under fire for protracted delays in giving veterans treatment and fake patient wait lists. Despite a pay freeze for top-level officials, the agency continued to pay performance-based bonuses to nearly half of its employees nationwide, according to data published by USA Today on Wednesday. (Richardson, 11/11)
Fox News:
VA Reportedly Paid $142M In Bonuses Last Year
The Department of Veterans Affairs reportedly paid out more than $142 million in performance bonuses in 2014 despite a string of scandals inside the agency. USA Today reported that the bonuses ranged as high as $12,705, and most were over $500. (11/11)
And news outlets report on mental health and PTSD services for vets as well as the first VA clinic to treat transgender patients -
The Associated Press:
After Years, VA Now Considering PTSD As Factor In Discharges
As the nation celebrates Veterans Day on Wednesday, however, there is new hope for veterans whose psychological wounds from combat may explain the misconduct that earned them that bad paper. Thanks to a federal lawsuit brought last year on behalf of five Connecticut veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in September 2014, ordered all discharge review boards to give "liberal consideration" to applicants with claims of combat-related PTSD. (O'Reilly, 11/11)
WKYC-TV:
Cleveland VA Opens First VA Transgender Clinic
The Cleveland VA Medical Center will open the first VA clinic specifically dedicated to the healthcare needs of transgender veterans. It will provide transgender veterans with primary care, hormonal therapy, mental health care and social work services. All of the providers in the clinic have a special interest in transgender care and will create an environment that celebrates and welcomes these veterans. (11/10)
The Washington Post:
Veterans Drop Hundreds Of Empty Pill Bottles In Front Of The White House
The veterans and protesters — affiliated with various veteran and marijuana advocacy organizations — argued that Veterans Affairs hospitals are over-medicating veterans, prescribing them a large number of psychoactive medications to treat PTSD. They marched from McPherson Square to the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters, then to the White House, some smoking joints along the way, which is illegal in D.C. (Stein, 11/11)
The Texas Tribune:
Abbott Calls For Improved Veteran Health Services
Calling on the federal government to improve health care services for veterans, Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday said that decreasing the wait times for veterans seeking medical attention should be a national priority. (Rudner, 11/11)
