Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
VA Faces Existential Crisis Of Trying To Modernize Without Hurting The Very Veterans It's Trying To Serve
Politico: The VA At A Crossroads
The Veterans Administration is facing an existential question. The effort to bring electronic health records to the VA and a push to make it easier for veterans to see doctors outside the VA system are aimed at improving access to care. But some worry those changes will put the VA on the road to privatization. How will the VA preserve its essence and live up to its founding promise even as it seeks to modernize and provide veterans with better care? Join Dan Diamond and Arthur Allen as they examine that question in a series of conversations on the Pulse Check podcast. (11/11)
CNN: This Army Veteran Is Helping To Take The Fight To Lung Cancer
An Army combat veteran who is facing the fight of her life has joined forces with a former NFL player to raise awareness in the battle against lung cancer. Retired Lt. Col. Angela Downs served 21 years in the Army, including a 2006 deployment to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. One year ago this month Downs was on the receiving end of a personal bombshell when she was diagnosed with a form of lung cancer. (Kennedy, 11/10)
WTOP: In Honor Of Veterans Day, Doctors Encourage Ear Health
Veterans are honored around the country every Nov. 11 — and in honor of the nation’s living active, former and retired service members, an audiologist is encouraging both veterans and civilians to keep tabs on their ear health. “Our veterans and our active duty military personnel have very noisy jobs,” said Kyle Acker, with Starkey Hearing Technologies. (Anderson, 11/11)
The Washington Post: Homeless Veterans Set To Move Into Permanent Digs, With A Touch Of Stardom
Clifton Braxton sat in his Buick Encore in the parking lot of Washington’s VA Medical Center last week and showed how he could transform the vehicle into a bedroom. An Air Force veteran who served during the Vietnam War, he struggled with substance abuse for many years and has been homeless off and on for a quarter-century. Each night he parks in a different lot in the District or Maryland. (Bahrampour, 11/10)
North Carolina Health News: ECU, VA Clinic Offers Dental Care To Vets
Male homeless vets listed dental care as one of their top four unmet needs in a 2017 survey. For the women surveyed, it was rated as the third highest unmet need. ...Passed by Congress in 2018 and signed into law by President Donald Trump, the law allows veterans to seek care in their community under VA benefits if there is a long wait, if their VA care provider refers them or if that service is not available at the VA center closest to them. A joint project with [East Carolina University] also could offer another avenue for veterans in eastern North Carolina ineligible for VA dental benefits to receive care at a reduced rate at the university’s main clinic on campus or at various clinic sites across the state. (Blythe, 11/11)
Kaiser Health News: Sit, Heal: Dog Teaches Military Med Students The Merits Of Service Animals
The newest faculty member at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences has a great smile — and a wagging tail. Shetland, not quite 2 years old, is half golden retriever, half Labrador retriever. As of this fall, he is also a lieutenant commander in the Navy and a clinical instructor in the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology at USUHS. (Rovner, 11/11)
