Legal Help for Veterans blog.
News and Press
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched a new program designed to identify veterans who are at risk of suicide. With an average of 20 veterans taking their lives each day, the agency is hoping their efforts will help reduce the number of suicides. The system is called Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health — […]
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News and Press
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on April 12 unveiled a new website with the goal of providing more transparency to veterans. The agency is making public data about the amount of time veterans are waiting for treatment and the quality of care at its medical facilities. Veterans can visit the website, to view information […]
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News and Press
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been overcharged for several drugs for nearly a decade, resulting in a steady decrease of financial resources that should have gone to veterans’ care. A French pharmaceutical company will pay $19.8 million in fines to resolve allegations that it incorrectly billed the VA for certain medications. “Overcharging VA […]
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Medical Issues / Disability, News and Press
Kristina Derro, Esq. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers is a program used to provide stipends for family caregivers who are forced to stay at home to take care of their veteran family member. Since these veterans have suffered serious injuries, the program is a great way to give […]
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News and Press
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) efforts to serve the nation’s veterans as efficiently as possible have long been hampered by its outdated information technology system. Now, the agency is looking to replace its current system with a commercial electronic health record (EHR) system. During a House Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing, VA Secretary David […]
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Mental Health, News and Press
Kristina Derro, Esq. Beginning this summer, the Department of Veterans Affairs will offer urgent mental health care to thousands of veterans with less-than-honorable discharges. The announcement was made earlier this month by VA Secretary David Shulkin who noted that former service members are more likely to have mental health distress, as well as much higher […]
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News and Press
A recent report from the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) shows that whistleblowers still face retaliation when reporting wrongdoing at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It has been almost three years since a whistleblower revealed that hundreds of veterans died while awaiting appointments at the Phoenix VA hospital. Now, whistleblowers allege little has changed […]
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News and Press
Kristina Derro, Esq. As a result of the epidemic that has been plaguing the nation, individuals are looking for the easiest place to get their hands on prescription opioids. In recent years, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities have been one of the many victims of this epidemic. In 2009, there were 272 reported incidents […]
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News and Press
Although traumatic brain injury (TBI) is considered an invisible wound of war, its effects can be devastating. According to the Department of Defense, more than 327,000 veterans have been diagnosed with TBI since 2000. The Department of Veterans Affairs has invested millions of dollars into research for improving diagnosis and treatment of the brain injury. […]
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Claims Processing, News and Press
Kristina Derro, Esq. The National Work Queue (NWQ) is a paperless workload management initiative designed to improve overall productive capacity and assist with reaching the goals of eliminating backlog. The problem is that backlog has actually increased since the NWQ came into place. Last May, when NWQ was put in place, the backlog stood at […]
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