Thursday, August 06, 2009

Veterans: Health Care

Obama: Health Care Reform Won't Impact Veterans Affairs, Tricare

"I want to make sure that message gets out to our veterans," the president said. "I think it's very important to get the message out: If you are in the VA system and are happy with your care, great. We have no intention of changing your eligibility."...............


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Congressman Filner Bill Allows Elderly Veterans to Use Earned Medicare for VA Health Care

“There are veterans who have earned VA health care benefits with their service to our country,” stated Chairman Filner. “They have also earned Medicare benefits by contributing to the Medicare program during their working years. Because VA cannot bill Medicare, elderly veterans are unable to use their Medicare benefits, even if they may prefer to receive care at a VA facility among their fellow veterans. So for those veterans, they basically forgo the hard-earned dollars that they contributed towards Medicare benefits during their working years. H.R. 3365 is an important bill that would allow elderly veterans to access both VA health care and their Medicare benefits.”


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Veterans Administration begins effort to help keep arrested veterans out of future trouble

Bracing for an influx of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department of Veterans Affairs has launched an ambitious effort to locate veterans who've had minor brushes with the law and offer them treatment to try to prevent repeat crimes.

The VA started its Veterans Justice Outreach Program early this year — before public attention intensified on a handful of Fort Carson, Colo.-based soldiers accused of murder, attempted murder or manslaughter after returning from a deployment where they faced intense combat. Most of the soldiers had been arrested for domestic violence, assault, illegal gun possession, and alcohol and drug charges before the slayings...........


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Cardiovascular Risk Factors With Mental Health Diagnoses in Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans

A total of 303,223 veterans were included in this analysis. The mean age of the study population was 31 years and 88% were men. PTSD was common among the cohort (24% prevalence). Among those with PTSD, comorbid mental health conditions were prevalent including depression (53%), anxiety disorder (29%), adjustment disorder (26%), and alcohol use disorder (22%)...........................


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Democrats blast Army's handling of toxic exposures in Iraq

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., called the Army's response to soldiers exposed to a highly toxic carcinogen in Iraq "inadequate" and said the Democratic Policy Committee will request a report from the Pentagon's inspector general on the matter.

Five soldiers who served at an Iraqi water injection facility in 2003 testified before the committee on Monday, outlining symptoms believed to be the result of exposure to sodium dichromate spread across the facility.................


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VETERANS-FOR-CHANGE NETWORKS FOR CHANGE IN THE ANTIQUATED VA PROCESSING SYSTEMS

Veterans-For-Change, a non-profit vocal group for Veterans rights, benefits, and treatment, networks together to share the following problems/issues that must be addressed............

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