Veteran healthcare Archives

Military Connection: Return of Hire More Heroes? By Debbie Gregory

December 7, 2014/in Archived Blogs

The House will take an opportunity in this new Congress to push legislation designed to incentivize employers to hire more Veterans.

Under H.R. 3474, the “Hire More Heroes Act,” companies that hire Veterans receiving health coverage through the Department of Veterans Affairs or Department of Defense could exclude these employees from employer-provided insurance coverage. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires employers with 50 or more full-time workers to provide health insurance.

Veterans who receive health coverage through programs such as TRICARE satisfy the healthcare law’s requirement of having insurance, making it unnecessary that their new employers to provide coverage for them. Allowing employers to exclude the Veterans who already receive healthcare through the VA and the DOD could help more Veterans get hired. If employers find that they can save money by hiring Veterans, the high Veteran unemployment rate would likely plummet.

The House passed H.R. 3474 last March, but the measure stalled in the Senate. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) vowed that the bill would resurface when the 114th Congress convenes in January.

About the HIRE MORE HEROES ACT OF 2014:

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an employer, for purposes of determining whether such employer is an applicable large employer and thus required to provide health care coverage to its employees under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to exclude employees who have coverage under a health care program administered by the Department of Defense (DOD), including TRICARE, or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: Return of Hire More Heroes? By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: VA’s $16.3b Won’t Last Long: By Debbie Gregory

November 26, 2014/in Archived Blogs

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is claiming that the $16.3 billion that was allotted through the Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014 (Veterans Choice Act) is not going to be enough to provide adequate care, long term.

VA Secretary Robert McDonald predicts that in the coming decades, Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will require even more care, possibly peaking 30 to 40 years from now. The VA’s leader said that the department will need more money to care for Veterans.

Many Americans believe that the seemingly huge sum allotted by the Veterans Choice Act was supposed to fix the VA and provide long-term healthcare for Veterans. But even though the wars seem to be winding down, the claims made by the Iraq and Afghanistan War-era Veterans will likely peak again in 40 years, and the duration of benefits will last even longer. McDonald noted that VA records show that there are still approximately 100 Veteran dependents from the Spanish-American War, and one dependent from a Civil War Veteran who still receive benefits.

The $16.3 billion allotted by the Veterans Choice Act is broken down into smaller provisions. The bill allots $10 billion for the utilization of private care at hospitals and clinics outside the VA, and $5 billion for the department to hire more doctors, nurses and other medical staff. The other $1.5 billion can be spent on leases to use other medical facilities at 27 sites around the country.

Back in July, before the Veterans Choice Act was approved, Sloan Gibson, who was acting-secretary, said that the VA needed $17.6 billion over the next three years to reform patient wait times at VA facilities. Note that Gibson’s amount was more than what the VA received, and it was estimated to fix the wait time issue only.

The next request for funds by the VA could fall on deaf ears as lawmakers return to Washington to hammer out fiscal 2015 spending bills, with a look towards 2016.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: VA’s $16.3b won’t Last Long: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: First Choice Cards Mailed: By Debbie Gregory

November 24, 2014/in Archived Blogs

Phase one in the issuance of “Choice Cards” is complete.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has mailed the first batch of Choice Cards, along with letters explaining how they work, to approximately 320,000 Veterans. This group was selected to be the first to receive the Choice Cards due to the proximity of their residence to the nearest VA facility being greater than forty miles.

The second phase of Choice card issuance will begin on or about Thanksgiving Day. The second group will consist of approximately 370,000 Veterans who are facing wait times for VA medical appointments that exceed thirty days.

The third phase is expected to continue through the end of January. By that time, the remaining 8 million Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare will be issued their Choice Cards.

The Choice Card gets its name from the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, which is commonly referred to as the “Choice Act.” The card itself helps Veterans to receive healthcare outside of the VA system. Veterans should know that the card does not permit them to seek appointments at any physician at their own discretion. Before a Choice Card can be used, eligibility must be verified and advance authorization must be obtained from a VA program manager. The card simply expedites the Veteran’s ability to show proof of medical coverage to non-VA medical providers once that approval is granted. Veterans should also know that the Choice Card does not replace their VA identification card. They will still need that card as well.

In order to be issued a Choice Card, Veterans must have been enrolled in the VA healthcare system by August 1, 2014. Veterans who enrolled after that date are still eligible for the temporary benefit, but only if they served on active duty in a theater of combat operations within the last five years.

The Choice Card benefit is set to end in three years, or whenever the VA spends all of the $10 billion set aside to fund the program.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: First Choice Cards Mailed: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: VA Memo to Employees: By Debbie Gregory

November 22, 2014/in Archived Blogs

Earlier this month, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald sent a memorandum out to all VA employees, concerning the future of the VA and how he intends to implement reform within the troubled system.

Sec. McDonald’s message began by explaining how he has gone about his intelligence gathering. He explained that by hearing from Veterans and family members who receive the care that the department provides, he was better able to understand what and where efforts within the VA need to be ramped up. The VA head said that feedback from more than 2,000 VA employees from 20 facilities that provide healthcare service to more than 1.4 million Veterans has helped to shape the manner in which the VA system can retool its organizational functional practices to better serve Veterans.

The secretary asked for the cooperation of all VA employees to help with their shared mission to make the VA system easier to navigate for Veterans. McDonald said that he and all VA employees should purse a shared goal of ensuring that Veterans have a “clear understanding of VA and where to go for what they need within any of our facilities…”

In order to accomplish this goal and other reforms within the VA, Sec. McDonald laid out the following plan:

1) Establish a new VA-wide customer service organization to provide top-rated customer service to Veterans. McDonald plans to implement a new office for a Chief Customer Service Officer who will report directly to the VA Secretary. The duties of this new position will be to drive VA culture and practices to understand and respond to the expectations of Veteran customers.

2) Establish a single regional framework that will simplify internal coordination, enhance customer service and facilitate partnering. This collaborative effort within the VA will allow Veterans to more easily navigate the VA system without having to understand the bureaucratic structure of the department.

3) Establish a national network of Community Veteran Advisory Councils to coordinate better service delivery with state and local community partners.

4) Realign the VA’s internal business processes into a shared services model in which organizations across the department leverage the same support services, to improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase productivity.

McDonald also mentioned the activation of the Idea House website on Veterans Day. The website is intended to function as an electronic suggestion box where VA employees can submit their ideas and proposed solutions based on the challenges they see within their work environment.

This is a wonderful opportunity to greatly improve the VA system for the betterment of current Veterans, as well as for future generations of Veterans to come. Everyone in the Veteran community, as well as those who care about the Veteran community will be watching the VA secretary’s actions with apprehension and anticipation. As a people united, we all hope to see Veterans receive the best care available.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: VA Memo to Employees: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: VA Takes Steps to Improve Care: By Debbie Gregory

October 9, 2014/in Archived Blogs

On Thursday, October 2, 2014, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that the MITRE Corporation has been awarded a contract to support the Independent Assessment of VA health care processes, as required by the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014. The MITRE Corporation operates multiple federally funded research and development centers. This is a substantial contract for the not-for-profit company, which will serve as program integrator.

Section 201 of the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 directs the VA to enter into one or more independent, third-party contracts for an assessment of the hospital care, medical services and other health care processes in VA medical facilities. The program integrator, MITRE Corporation, will be responsible for coordinating the outcomes of the assessments conducted by the third-party entities, according to the scope of the contracts. The program integrator is also required to report the independent assessment results to Congress within 60 days of the assessment’s conclusion.

Working with legislators, Veterans Service Organizations, and other Veteran advocacy groups, the VA and its secretary, Robert McDonald, have taken the following measures in support of the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014:

Working through the contracting process to extend the pilot program, called Project ARCH, to ensure the continuation of expanded access for Veterans in rural areas provided by that program.
Establishing a Program Management office to oversee the planning and implementation of legislation across the department.
Putting in place the mechanisms to execute the outlined facilities with the authorization provided to carry out major medical facility leases.
Organizing an “Industry Day” to seek input on how best to provide administrative support, including issuing Veteran Choice Cards.

“This independent assessment is a key element in our effort to rebuild trust with Veterans and our other stakeholders,” McDonald said. “It will provide the Department a way to transparently review our vital programs, organizations, and business practices to make us a better and more accountable VA for the Veterans we serve.”

It appears that after a long year filled with scandals and media backlashes, the VA healthcare system is in the process of taking major steps in the right direction. By implementing these first measures towards the accountability of employees and improved care for Veterans, the VA is becoming the entity that they are intended to be… the one that Veterans and their families deserve.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: VA Takes Steps to Improve Care: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: Newest Push to End VA Backlog: By Debbie Gregory

September 21, 2014/in Archived Blogs

In an effort to improve care for all Veterans, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has set a goal to eliminate the appointment backlog by the end of 2015. In the latest efforts to accomplish this goal, VA secretary Robert McDonald announced that the department plans to increase the range of pay for its health care professionals.

Secretary McDonald told the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs Convention that more facilities, more employees and better pay for providers are the keys to solving the appointment wait-time problems that have plagued the VA for years.

The VA is hoping that a more competitive pay scale could sway top-of-their-field doctors to work for the VA instead of private hospitals around the country. Hiring the best would mean better and more efficient care for our nation’s Veterans.

The VA has also been reaching out to Veterans who are already on the waiting list, and attempting to set up appointments for them within the VA healthcare system or private healthcare facilities. As of the beginning of this month, the Veterans Health Administration has reached out to more than 240,000 Veterans in order to get them appointments, reducing the electronic waiting lists by 57%.

While the VA is making efforts to improve the situation, expansions take time, and the Veteran population is growing. The down-sizing of the entire U.S. Military is rapidly separating approximately 250,000 VA healthcare-eligible Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan each year.

Only time will tell if all of these new initiatives and expansion efforts will turn the VA around completely. But at least for now, the VA has halted on its course to total ruin and is coming about onto a new heading. With any luck, it will be full-speed ahead for eliminating the appointment backlog in 2015.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: Newest Push to End VA Backlog: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: VA Recruitment Effort: By Debbie Gregory

September 13, 2014/in Archived Blogs

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking measures to expand the capacity of their facilities in order to provide Veterans with the timely care that they have earned. As part of these measures, the VA is on the hunt for new talent to help staff their 151 medical facilities.

The VA’s national recruitment effort is a direct response to the negative media that the VA has received over the course of this year. New VA Secretary Robert McDonald is intent on improving the VA’s image by improving the quality of care that the VA provides. The quality of care that Veterans receive can be measured by the timeliness of treatment and the knowledge of the staff.

By hiring a large number of new medical professionals, the VA intends to employ a knowledgeable, enthusiastic staff that will provide timely and accurate care for Veterans.

The exact steps that the VA is taking to expand capacity at their facilities include:

Collaborating on a new nursing academic partnership (VA Nursing Academic Partnerships or VANAP) focused on psychiatric and mental health care to build stronger, mutually beneficial relationships between nursing schools and VA facilities.
Partnering with the Department of Defense Health Affairs, Army, Navy, and Air Force to improve recruitment of recently or soon to be discharged health care professionals. VHA is already taking advantage of known separations of military health care workers.

Expansion of a pilot program to bring combat medics and corpsmen in to VA facilities as clinicians
Improving the credentialing process for VA and DoD health care providers, which will involve sharing credentials to speed up the process.
Expanding of the loan repayment program, as included in the recently passed Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act.
Considering options to revise pay tables to offer more competitive salaries for VA providers, in comparison to their academic and private practice colleagues.

These actions build on recruitment policies already in place, including partnerships between local facilities and academic institutions, loan repayment programs, and scholarship programs.

“In order to recruit and retain the highest quality medical professionals, VA needs to be competitive with other healthcare systems, and ultimately that is how we provide the best care to our Veteran patients,” said Interim Under Secretary for Health Carolyn M. Clancy.

To learn more about how to work in VA health care and serve our nation’s Veterans, please visit the VA Career Page.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: VA Recruitment Effort: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: More Vets Getting Private Care: By Debbie Gregory

August 31, 2014/in Archived Blogs

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been significantly increasing Veterans referrals to private doctors, following the scandal over unacceptable patient wait times at numerous VA facilities and the allegations of falsified appointment records.

The VA’s reputation has been damaged by claims that multiple Veterans had died while waiting for treatment from the VA healthcare system. Some VA employees have been accused of covering up scheduling blunders. The scandal ultimately led to the resignation of formerVA Secretary Eric Shinseki and the eventual appointment of Robert McDonald.

Since the scandal broke, the VA has made nearly 840,000 referrals for Veterans to receive care from private doctors. This is an increase of over 166,000 referrals from the same period last year.

A $16.3 billion VA overhaul was recently signed into law by President Barack Obama. Approximately $10 billion is being allotted to pay private healthcare providers to treat Veterans who can’t get timely appointments at their local VA facility. The law also includes $5 billion to hire more doctors and other medical and mental health professionals.

At the National American Veterans (AMVETS) convention, McDonald told a group of Veterans that 1,000 new doctors, nurses and clerks were needed at the Phoenix VA hospital alone. And another 500 new doctors, nurses and clerks were needed at the VA facility in North Las Vegas.

“Until we get systems up to capacity, we’re expanding our use of private care and other non-VA health care to improve access for Veterans experiencing excessive wait times,” McDonald told the Veterans at the convention. “And we’re monitoring non-VA care to ensure Veterans receive the best that they deserve.”

The VA spent about $4.8 billion last year on medical care at non-VA healthcare providers. This factored to be about 10% of the health care costs for the Veterans Health Administration, the agency’s healthcare arm.

McDonald’s appearance at the AMVETS convention was part of a tour that has included stops at the Phoenix VA hospital, a disabled veterans’ convention in Las Vegas, and the VA’s Memphis medical complex.

With adequate funding from the government, vigilant attention from the new VA secretary, and the support of the American public, Veterans can look forward to significant improvement to the VA healthcare system and their privatized care through the VA.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: More Vets Getting Private Care: By Debbie Gregory

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Military Connection: VA Reform Bill Passes: By Debbie Gregory

August 4, 2014/in Archived Blogs

The long awaited legislation designed to reform the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), has been passed by both houses of Congress, and is pending President Obama’s signature before it can be enacted.

The bill, known as the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, is a compromise between the House and Senate bills. After being re-worked to include the best of both existing bills, it passed overwhelmingly in each house during separate votes last week. On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 the bill passed in the House by a vote of 420-5. Late Thursday evening, the bill was passed in the Senate by a vote of 91-3.

The bill earmarks $16.3 billion to expand programs and benefits for Veterans. Included in this amount is $10 billion to expand healthcare options for Veterans who are unable to receive timely appointments within the VA system. This provision allows these Veterans to seek care from providers outside the VA system. The bill also allots $5 billion to enable the VA to hire more doctors and nurses to handle a greater number of caseloads, and $1.3 billion to finance 27 new VA facilities across the country.

Also included in the act are improvements to Veteran education benefits. Under section 702 of the pending bill, there is an incentive for schools to charge the in-state tuition for Veterans, their spouses and children when they use VA education benefits such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Conversely, the legislation proposes to disapprove future benefits at public schools that charge tuition rates higher than in-state rates to any Veteran who served more than 90 days active service and separated no more than three years before enrollment.

There are provisions for Veteran students already enrolled in school, and a timetable for schools out of compliance to comply. If approved, public colleges and universities would be forced to charge all Veterans in-state tuition rates, *or* risk losing all of their GI Bill students. More than 30 states already require their public schools to make exceptions for out of state Veteran students using their education benefits.

The president is expected to sign the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 into law.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: VA Reform Bill Passes: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: No Help for Vets with TBI? By Debbie Gregory

July 25, 2014/in A Veteran's Perspective, Healthcare, Military Veteran, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

As the August recess quickly approaches, Veterans are still waiting for Congress to take action on renewing an important piece of legislation allowing Veterans with traumatic brain injuries to receive treatment in assisted living facilities.

More than twelve years of war on two fronts has resulted in a whole generation of Americans who have sustained traumatic brain injuries. Many Veteran advocates, and even members of Congress, believe that the government has a responsibility to support the recovery of wounded Veterans and help all Veterans transition back to civilian life when their service is complete.

The current pilot program that provides assisted living care for Veterans with traumatic brain injuries is currently set to expire on September 30th, unless Congress acts to renew it.

There is pending legislation in the Senate that would extend the program for three years, at a cost of $46 million. But lawmakers in both houses are currently preoccupied with trying to reach an agreement on reforming the hot-ticket Veterans healthcare system. Along with drawing Congress’s attention away from the program’s legislation, the VA reform bill is expected to cost over $40 billion per year, so it may be taking the funding from the assisted living program as well.

The program, which began in 2008 was intended to generate more effective rehabilitation methods for Veterans suffering from a traumatic brain injury.

Many leading Veteran advocacy groups are demanding that Congress needs to find both the time and the resources to extend the assisted living program.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard &amp,amp, Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.