According to an article published by MilitaryTimes.com, “Along with major investments in projects to rebuild American highways, ports, and airports, the proposal calls for “vastly improving our nation’s federal facilities, especially those that serve veterans. Administration officials noted that while the median age of private-sector hospitals in America today is about 11 years, the median age of VA hospitals is roughly 58 years. The $18 billion would be spread over a variety of modernization and new construction projects, with the goal of providing better facilities for VA medical care.”
News
New Biden Infrastructure Plan Gives $18 Billion for VA Hospital Upgrades
April 1, 2021An ambitious $2 trillion infrastructure plan by President Joe Biden (also known as the American Jobs Plan) has assigned $18 billion for improvements to Veterans Affairs medical centers. The aim of the package is to generate millions of employment opportunities and to rebuild the country’s infrastructure.
Categories: Veterans Disability News
Backlog of C&P Exams Worsened by Pandemic
March 29, 2021The backlog of compensation and pension exam requests has only been worsened by the pandemic, leaving hundreds of thousands of veterans waiting.
According to an article published by Stars and Stripes, “The exams are a crucial part of the process to determine whether veterans are eligible for the Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. The department suspended the exams in April 2020, as coronavirus cases spread across the United States, and during that time about 200,000 requests accumulated, said David McLenachen, executive director of the VA’s medical disability examination office…The VA is scrambling to eradicate the backlog of appointments by the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30, but lawmakers and veterans’ advocates remain skeptical of the agency’s ability to achieve that goal.”
Categories: Veterans Disability News
Veteran with Severe Lung Damage from Burn Pits Denied Benefits
March 22, 2021Bill Thompson, a retired Army staff sergeant who has severe lung damage as a result of inhaling toxic fumes from burn pits, has been denied full disability benefits.
According to an article published by Stars and Stripes, “The lungs Bill Thompson was born with told a gruesome, harrowing and unmistakable tale to Dr. Anthony Szema when he analyzed them and found the black spots, scarring, partially combusted jet fuel and metal inside…“There’s black spots that are burns, particles all over; there’s metal. It was all scarred,” said Szema, a pulmonologist and professor who studies toxic exposures and examined Thompson’s preserved lung tissue…Thompson is still alive, surviving on his second transplanted set of lungs. Yet the story burned into the veteran’s internal organs is not one that has been entirely convincing to the U.S. government.”
Relevant pages: Veterans Disability
Categories: Veterans Disability News
Fight Continues for Veterans with Toxic Exposure During Service in Thailand
March 15, 2021Lawmakers and the VA Chairman are recommitting themselves to providing support to veterans who served in Thailand during the Vietnam War-era by providing them the ability to prove toxic exposure and therefore be eligible for benefits.
According to an article published by The Veterans’ Affairs committee, “The VA currently awards service-connected benefits for exposure to toxic chemicals to veterans whose duties placed them on or near the perimeters of Thai military bases from February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975. This restriction arbitrarily disqualifies veterans who may otherwise be able to prove their exposure, regardless of their assigned duties during their time stationed in Thailand.”
Categories: Veterans Disability News
VA Vaccine Act Passed, Making All Veterans & Caregivers Eligible
March 12, 2021This week, the VA Vaccine Act was unanimously passed by House members, giving the Department of Veterans Affairs the go-ahead to vaccinate all veterans and their caregivers.
According to an article published by Military Times, “It is unclear how quickly the department could distribute the vaccine, but the measure would dramatically expand the scope of who the VA can vaccinate to include all caregivers of veterans enrolled in various VA programs, and veterans living abroad who rely on the Foreign Medical Program. There are about 9 million veterans enrolled in VA care, but there are 18 million total U.S. veterans, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet VA would serve as another option for veterans and their civilian caregivers, as some people are still struggling to find a vaccine or are confused amid conflicting information on eligibility.”
Relevant pages: Veterans Disability
Categories: Wolf and Brown News
$1.9 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Plan Approved with $17 Billion for VA
March 11, 2021This week, with only three hours of debate, the House approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that includes $17 billion for the VA.
According to an article published by Stars and Stripes, “The bill gives about $17 billion to the VA. Most of that — $14.5 billion — goes toward vaccine distribution, veterans’ health care, mental health care, staffing, suicide prevention, research and women’s health, as well as expanding telehealth, serving homeless veterans and stocking personal protective equipment.”
Relevant pages: Veterans Disability
Categories: Veterans Disability News
Democratic Leaders Invite Veterans from Minority Groups to Policy Discussions
March 9, 2021Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly promised to include more veterans from minority communities in policy discussions. Last week, they delivered on this promise.
According to an article published by Military Times, “[During] a joint hearing by the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees, leaders from Minority Veterans of America and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans sat for the first time among organizations invited each year to give their views on current Veterans Affairs policies and shortfalls.”
Democratic leaders have also invited the National Congress of American Indians and National Association for Black Veterans to legislative presentation panels later this month.
Categories: Wolf and Brown News
Lawmakers and Advocacy Groups Push to Add High Blood Pressure to List of Presumptive Agent Orange Illnesses
March 1, 2021This year, lawmakers and advocacy are pushing for high blood pressure to officially be added to the list of Agent Orange presumptive illnesses – a move that could potentially provide disability benefits to more than 160,000 Veterans.
According to an article published by Military Times, “In an interview with Military Times this week, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., said the issue will be a major early focus for his committee, and he has already begun work on legislative fixes for the issue…On Friday, Tester and committee ranking member Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough asking him to exercise his own authority and fast-track the issue.”
Relevant pages: Veterans Disability
Categories: Veterans Disability News
VA Secretary Vowed to Urgently Review New Toxic Exposure Benefit Rules
February 24, 2021This week, VA Secretary Denis McDonough vowed to crucially review the new rules for presumptive benefits for Vietnam Veterans with toxic exposure. However, he failed to give a specific timeline for when these rules will be implemented.
According to an article published by MilitaryTimes.com, “In January, officials from President Donald Trump’s VA leadership team said it could be months or years before veterans suffering from bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinson’s-like symptoms — three new conditions added presumptive benefits list by Congress last year — would see any benefits from the change in law. Past VA officials have argued against the move in part because of lingering questions about connections between the illnesses and chemical defoliant exposure…and in part because of the potential cost of the move, estimated at about $8 billion over the next 10 years.”
Categories: Veterans Disability News
Depleted Uranium Not the Cause of Gulf War Illness, Study says
February 22, 2021Veterans that were part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm have suffered a myriad of symptoms known as Gulf War illness and have long tried to find the cause. One suspected cause was the depleted uranium used in armor-piercing rounds, however, a study released Thursday from the University of Texas and the U.K.’s University of Portsmouth proved that false.
According to an article published by MilitaryTimes.com, researcher Randall Parrish said in a release, “That depleted uranium is not and never was in the bodies of those who are ill at sufficient quantities to cause disease will surprise many, including sufferers who have, for 30 years, suspected depleted uranium may have contributed to their illness.” The report instead believes that low-level exposure to sarin gas, anti-nerve agent medication, and pesticides troops were also exposed to may be the cause.
Relevant pages: Veterans Disability
Categories: Veterans Disability News