June 10, 2019
Jim Absher | Task & Purpose
Got a sore throat or a sprained ankle and don't want to go to a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital? Got sick at 8:00 on a Friday night and don't want to wait until Monday to see a VA doctor? A new VA program may be for you.
As of June 6, 2019, the VA offers medical care to eligible veterans at selected civilian urgent care facilities nationwide.
June 10, 2019
Natalie Gross | Military Times
The Department of Veterans Affairs is outlawing smoking, vaping and other forms of tobacco use at its health care facilities across the country in an effort to better treat and protect patients, the agency announced Monday.
“Although VA has historically permitted smoking in designated areas, there is growing evidence that smoking and exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke creates significant medical risks, and risks to safety and direct patient care that are inconsistent with medical requirements and limitations,” the department said in a news release.
June 7, 2019
Patrick Tucker | Defense One
More U.S. Army soldiers die by suicide than in combat. There are a number reasons for that, but a study published on Friday in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows a strong relationship between keeping a personal firearm and suicide among soldiers.
June 5, 2019
Jennifer Steinhauer | NY Times
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs on Thursday will begin allowing a broad section of its nine million enrollees to seek medical care outside of traditional V.A. hospitals, the biggest shift in the American health care system since the passage of the Affordable Care Act nearly a decade ago.
June 4, 2019
Patricia Kime | Military.com
Four years ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs launched an ambitious initiative to cure all VA patients with chronic hepatitis C. Today, the department is more than three-quarters of the way, healing nearly 100,000 veterans of the virus, with 26,000 more to go.
June 3, 2019
Meghann Myers | Military Times
The days of having to keep a tidy copy of your discharge paperwork to prove you were in the service could be coming to an end.
May 31, 2019
VAntagePoint Contributor | VAntage Point
As the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s signing of the VA MISSION Act of 2018 (the MISSION Act) approaches on June 6, Veterans can expect to have more choices than ever in getting timely, high-quality care.
VA is required to implement major parts of the new Veterans Community Care Program under the MISSION Act by June 6, 2019. This new Program will become effective after VA publishes implementing regulations.
May 29, 2019
Joshua Axelrod | Military Times
Nadine Carson probably would’ve had to drop out of college if not for the University of Maryland University College’s Veterans Assistance Fund.
May 21, 2019
Kelly Stormer | NAVSO
The National Association of Veteran-Serving Organizations (NAVSO) Board announces Tim Farrell as its new Chief Executive Officer, after a nationwide search led by executive recruiters. NAVSO is a national military/veteran service nonprofit organization focused on transforming the veteran services marketplace to improve the lives of veterans and military families.
May 20, 2019
Karen Jowers | Military Times
Army and Air Force spouses can now apply for reimbursement of up to $500 for professional relicensing costs when they relocate with their service member – and the new policies are retroactive to Dec. 12, 2017.