If you were stationed at Camp LeJuene, N.C. for at least 30 consecutive days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987 you may be eligible for certain benefits. You may be eligible for VA health care or certain cost reimbursements for you and your dependent faily members. There are also certain presumptives that may allow you to receive disability compensation.
Vietnam veterans may be dying from slow-killing parasite, study shows:
The Department of Veterans Affairs this spring commissioned a small pilot study to look into the link between liver flukes ingested through raw or undercooked fish and a rare bile duct cancer. It can take decades for symptoms to appear. By then, patients are often in tremendous pain, with just a few months to live. Research studies show that it can take as many as fifty (50) years for the parasite to manifest itself.
New technology alleviates Tinnitus by retraining the brain to ignore ringing in the ears:
A recently released randomized study by the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research at the VA Portland Health Care System demonstrated improved clinical outcomes for tinnitus patients using the Levo System. The study was led by James Henry, PhD. Tinnitus affects a range of people, including those who are exposed to continuous noise. It is the leading service-related disability among U.S. veterans, according to the American Tinnitus Association.
The Levo System approach is grounded in the idea of personalized medicine. Rather than machines or doctors selecting sound matches in the customary fashion, patients choose the actual sounds they hear when they sleep. When patients take an active role addressing their tinnitus, they often feel a sense of mastery and control.
Restoring Veterans’ Second Amendment right:
Currently, when the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) names a fiduciary to assist a veteran with benefit payments, the VA will then report the veteran to the National Criminal Instant Background Check System (NICS), also known as the gun ban list. When placed on this list, a veteran is unable to own or purchase a gun, being stripped of their Second Amendment right for virtually no reason. It’s absurd that our veterans are subject to this unjust scrutiny, and that they have been required to fight for what should be a constitutionally protected Second Amendment right. Our service members have sacrificed so much to protect our rights, and it’s critical that we ensure their rights are being protected.
This week, Senator Ernst, Senators Chuck Grassley and Joe Manchin (D-WV) in introducing the bi[artisan Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights Restoration Act of 2018 to do exactly that.
VA considers restricting eligibility for caregivers program:
On February 6, 2018 Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is considering new restrictions to a program that provides monthly stipends and other assistance to family caregivers of post-9/11 veterans. Testifying before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on Tuesday, Shulkin said he wanted to limit eligibility for the program to the most severely injured and ill veterans in order to expand benefits to veterans of all eras without inflating costs.
As is, the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers provides monthly stipends, medical training and access to other services, such as mental health counseling, to family members of veterans injured after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Some advocates have fought for years for an extension of caregiver benefits to veterans injured before 9/11, describing it as an unfair disparity.
Based on the Secretary’s comment, veterans before Iraq and Afghanistan will NOT qualify for caregiver programs because, as I read the Secretary’s statement, veterans prior to Iraq and Afghanistan do not caregiver’s.
On Tuesday, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee renewed debate on the issue of VA’s caregiver program, which awards living stipends — totaling up to several thousands of dollars a month — to the families of veterans who require around-the-clock home care.
• (855) 948 2311:
That is the number for the White House Hot Line and 90% of the staff are either veterans or family members of veterans. According to the VA, the agents document your concerns about VA care, benefits or services and they expeditate the referral and resolution of those concerns.
• Veteran population:
I found tthe following interesting because I believe it shows what some think of our military.
Over the next 25 years the VA expects a 37.5% decline in the veteran population. VA projections show there will be a total veteran population decline of almost 20 million by 2032.
• Half of Post-9/11 vets aren’t getting mental health care: f
About half of U.S. veterans who served during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq don’t get the mental health care they need, according to a new report that recommends changes to improve the care delivered by the Veterans Affairs health system. Veterans who seek help for post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, depression or other mental health conditions can be stymied by the VA’s bureaucracy or short-staffed clinics and hospitals. Other factors such as lack of social support, distance and fear of revealing a mental health issue may discourage veterans from seeking care at all.
VA’s Homeless Grant and Per Diem
Rep. Coffman (CO) introduced H.R. 4099, a bill which modifies the calculation of per diem payments the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) makes to homeless grant providers to include partial payment for each of a homeless veteran’s minor dependents. This will ensure that a homeless veteran does not have to choose between treatment and keeping her or his family intact.
VA’s Homeless Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program has long been an important source of transitional housing for homeless veterans. In 2016, these programs, generally operated by community providers who receive grant funding from VA, had 13,800 beds devoted to providing supportive housing and/or supportive services for homeless veterans. Veterans may enter these programs to stabilize their medical and behavioral health issues, learn or re-learn independent living and vocational skills and seek VA services and benefits that help them recover from life on the streets. VA notes this is a successful program that in 2016, helped 16,500 veterans move from transitional to permanent housing.
Please support this legislation to assist our homeless veterans and their families. You can use the prepared letter below to ask your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 4099.
Thank you for your participation in the DAV Commander’s Action Network.
Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/oeJHLffem6IV8FQVKbD5JA