Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
VA Must Build Houses For Homeless LA Vets With Access To Close Medical Care
CNN: VA Ordered To Build Thousands More Homes For Veterans On West Los Angeles Campus
A federal judge on Friday slammed the Department of Veterans Affairs for failing to build enough homes for veterans in West Los Angeles and ruled that a private school, UCLA, an oil driller and a parking lot operator must vacate some of the most valuable real estate in America because their leases with the VA are illegal. Judge David O. Carter – ruling in a lawsuit brought by homeless vets – ordered the VA to build about 2,500 temporary and permanent units of housing on the land so that more veterans can move off the street and the neediest among them can access the medical facilities available on the agency’s West Los Angeles campus. (Watt, 9/6)
The Boston Globe: ‘The Early Evidence Is Flashing Red’: Elizabeth Warren Convenes Panel On Military Blast Injuries
Dennis Hernandez knew he was in trouble when he watched a video of himself stress-testing a security system for a client and realized he had no recollection of doing it. The video had been filmed that morning. Hernandez, a retired special forces veteran, suspected his short-term memory problems stemmed from repeated exposures to the pressure waves unleashed by low-level explosions. During his 22 years of service, he’d been exposed to breaching charges used to blow open doors countless times, along with multiple IEDs. But when he finally sought help from the Department of Veterans Affairs, he realized he was on his own. (Piore, 9/8)
Military.com: New Standards For The VA Caregivers Program Are Still In Limbo. Advocates Want Them Released.
Advocates for family members and friends who support severely ill or injured veterans who need daily care are pushing the Biden administration for answers on the future of a Department of Veterans Affairs program that provides benefits to those caregivers. Twelve organizations, including the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Wounded Warrior Project, wrote President Joe Biden on Wednesday asking him to publish new program standards for the VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, which have been in the works for more than two years. (Kime, 9/6)
Alabama Reflector: Governor Asks For Resignation Of Alabama Department Of Veterans Affairs Commissioner
Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday asked Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Kent Davis to resign, alleging that he “mishandled” a grant program from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The governor also wrote in the letter that she had removed John Kilpatrick, a Mobile-based veterans care provider, from the State Board of Veterans’ Affairs. Both men were involved in a recent ethics complaint against the Alabama Department of Mental Health (ADMH) that the Alabama Ethics Commission dismissed as frivolous last month. (Chapoco, 9/5)
In other health industry news —
Crain's Chicago Business: Kaiser Permanente Grant Boosts Black Health Leadership Alliance
A Chicago-based alliance of Black board directors is taking aim at increasing Black leadership among public hospitals and community health centers, with a $1.5 million grant from Kaiser Permanente. The grant from Kaiser's fund at the East Bay Community Foundation will help Black Directors Health Equity Agenda, or BDHEA, develop a recruitment and engagement playbook to address health disparities through Black leadership, the organization said in a press release. (Asplund, 9/6)
Stateline: States Are Making It Easier For Physician Assistants To Work Across State Lines
Mercedes Dodge was raised by first-generation immigrant parents from Peru in a modest home in a rural part of southeastern Texas, where there weren’t many health care providers. Sometimes they had to travel to Houston, over an hour and a half away, to get basic health care. Partly because of that experience, Dodge became a physician assistant. Since 2008, she has provided psychiatric and primary care services to adults and children, many of whom come from communities like hers. (Chatlani, 9/6)
Reuters: US Judge Unlikely To Block NLRB Case Pending Challenge To Agency's Powers
A federal judge in Chicago on Friday seemed skeptical of a medical center's claim that National Labor Relations Board members and administrative judges are improperly insulated from removal by the president, an argument that has been raised in a series of cases filed this year claiming that the NLRB's structure is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings held a two-hour-long hearing on a motion by Alivio Medical Center, a nonprofit that serves Chicago's Hispanic community, to block an NLRB administrative case against the company from proceeding pending the outcome of its lawsuit challenging the agency's structure. (Wiessner, 9/6)
