Veterans Issues
Veterans urge FDA to approve ecstasy for PTSD treatment in clinical settings
Veterans, including lawmakers who are also veterans, attended a two-hour outdoor news conference in Washington D.C. They shared their experiences with dealing with PTSD and with other effects of serving in a combat environment. Some of these veterans pointed to ecstasy as helping them beyond what traditional medications for their conditions were able to do. […]
Disabled Veterans calling on Congress to move on bill related to concurrent benefits
Veterans with less than 20 years of service, and having less than a 50% disability rating, are not able to receive both their military retirement and disability compensation. There is a dollar for dollar offset, reducing retirement pay by the amount of disability pay. Veterans groups are calling on Congress to get the bill moving […]
Department of Veterans Affairs pushes for more Black Veterans to be labeled mentally disabled
The VA wants more Black Veterans to be labeled mentally disabled. Black Veterans have a higher percentage of receiving disability compensation benefits compared to White Veterans. The VA report also pointed out that Black Veterans have lower grant rates than White Veterans. The VA declared its intention to reduce the grant rate gap between Black […]
Using artificial intelligence to assist with veteran healthcare
The VA is already utilizing artificial intelligence to assist with veteran healthcare to include predicting cancer risks, predicting veteran suicide risk, as well as helping with diagnostic accuracy. A House Committee on Veterans Affairs subcommittee queried representatives of the VA on how artificial intelligence could be better employed with veterans’ healthcare service. From Military Times: […]
Transgender veterans suing the Department of Veterans Affairs
The Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) initiated a lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs. The lawsuit involves the delay in providing gender affirming surgery. This delay in providing this type of service keeps transgender veterans in “limbo.” Bekky Eshler, the organization’s president, implied that transgendered veterans not feeling “at home” with their natural gender […]
Theft by former VFW post commander results in post needing to merge with another
Michael Bruce Colley, 65, was a former commander of a Veterans of Foreign Wars post. He used money from the organization to make payments on his mortgage. This was not the only personal expense that he spent organization funds on. Colley was subsequently charged with wire fraud. He is looking at 20 years in federal […]
Employees with the VA facing additional mandatory overtime
The passage of the PACT Act opened the door for veterans to file additional claims, or for veterans to file claims for the first time. The number of claims submitted to the VA exceeded what the VA normally receives. Over the past 13 months, the VA saw over 750,000 new claims. From the Military Times: […]
Senators ask the VA to stop needless foreclosures on veterans
During the pandemic, many took a COVID forbearance to defer paying mortgages in order to keep their homes despite their loss of income. Many homeowners understood that they would simply have their owed payments placed at the end of their payment timeline. Veterans were among those who took advantage of this program. However, many of […]
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