Vets Benefits to be Exempt from Sequestration

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Sep 14, 2012 16:11:36 EDT

Veterans’ disability and education benefits, health care and counseling are all exempt from sequestration, according to a Friday report from the White House that spells out the harm that awaits defense and non-defense programs if a way isn’t found to avoid the across-the-board budget cuts.

In a good news/bad news report to Congress, the White House said it has determined the entire Veterans Affairs Department budget is exempt from sequestration, a decision that answers nagging questions about whether VA might still be at risk for administrative cuts that would have forced layoffs, pay reductions and travel bans.

The bad news for veterans is what happens to programs outside VA. In reviewing the report, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee staff found that funding for Arlington National Cemetery, the American Battle Monuments Commission that oversees cemeteries overseas, and the Labor Department’s Veterans Employment and Training Service would all see their budgets cut under sequestration......

READ MORE HERE:

http://militarytimes.com/news/2012/09/military-sequestration-budget-cuts-veterans-affairs-091412w/

Wyo. National Guard Gets Stress Training (Combating Suicides)

By JAMES CHILTON 

Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Published: September 2, 2012

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Army National Guard is arming its troops with a new weapon: a skills set to cope with the stresses of military life.

According to media reports, suicides in the Army have outnumbered combat deaths this year. That statistic serves as a stirring reminder of the importance of not only post-traumatic support but of proper mental and emotional conditioning, said Lt. Col. Samuel E. House of the Wyoming Guard.

"Military suicides have long been an issue within the military," House said. "The idea behind resilience training is to minimize that - as well as address other issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Army has offered resilience training, formerly called "battle-mind training" for several years. But, House said, it was only recently that the Army began to mandate that specific numbers of troops go through it.

Those troops, he said, can then use the lessons they've learned to help other soldiers cope with the day-to-day stresses of military life, such as the disconnect that can sometimes occur between military and civilian life.

"It's designed to look at the cultural aspect of it, not just the combat piece of it," House said. "There are just as many suicides among those who have deployed versus those who have not deployed. Marital problems, it's the same thing."

It's not uncommon for soldiers to assume a pessimistic disposition, whether it's due to the violence they witness overseas or whether they're coping with being separated from family and loved ones, House tells the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

Others can cope with military life but may have a hard time readjusting to civilian life, where responsibilities and expectations may be different than previously.

"Individuals who have done their four years or eight years or 20 years, it's interesting to see: Some people get out and go off and are very successful, other individuals, it's all they know," he said. "Particularly within the National Guard, before you deploy you have those (civilian and familial) responsibilities. Then you deploy and for the first two or three months, you feel like you need to be a part of the things at home."

While many soldiers are eventually able to accept their new roles, House said once they do return, they have to adjust to family life all over again.

At the same time, a soldier's spouse may have settled into his or her own new routine, which they then have to alter once the soldier returns home.

For that reason, one of the big focuses of the resilience training is getting soldiers to consider more than just the worst-case scenario.

All too often, House said, some soldiers may assume they're being cheated on or left behind.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.stripes.com/news/wyo-national-guard-gets-stress-training-1.187787

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT: Women Veterans Social Justice: Women Veterans Services (Part 1)

Women Veterans Social Justice: Women Veterans Services (Part 1)

Just click the link above!

Mind Field: PTSD & the Military

Can the Armed Forces afford to accurately diagnose soldiers--and their families--with psychological issues stemming from war?

By Keegan Hamilton Wednesday, Aug 8 2012

Nature calls, even in a war zone. And so, in April 2008, when John Byron Etterlee was stationed at an American military base in Baghdad, working the night shift at an Army tactical operations center, he carried his rifle as he stepped outside to use the outhouse. Suddenly, just as he began to relieve himself, he heard an ominous buzz in the sky above.

Etterlee, a stout Georgia native with a blond crew cut and thick spectacles, hustled out of the portable toilet and gazed up into the darkness. The buzz sounded like a small airplane approaching, but Etterlee, already midway through his second tour of duty inIraq, realized the white streak tearing through the night was an incoming rocket.

"For a split second I thought, 'Oh my God, am I going to die?' " the 35-year-old soldier recalls matter-of-factly in his slow Southern cadence. "I thought it was coming toward me. Fifteen seconds later I heard a loud explosion that shook the buildings. The rocket hit maybe 50 yards outside the gate."

Nobody was injured in the attack, and Etterlee's desert outpost incurred no serious damage. In hindsight, he says, it was just another close call during a span when he and his unit became accustomed to mortar fire, IED detonations, and other random explosions. But for some reason, perhaps because of the embarrassing circumstances, this particular brush with death has stuck with him. "I almost pissed in my pants," Etterlee says with a halfhearted chuckle. "It wasn't funny when it happened, but it's kinda funny now."

A chemical-weapons specialist tasked mainly with keeping records and maintaining equipment, Etterlee had limited combat experience during his time in Iraq. Nevertheless, his vehicle was once nearly struck by a roadside bomb, and one of his closest friends was killed in action in a separate incident. When he returned home toJoint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in late 2008, the chemical weapons specialist was clearly rattled. His wife forced him to spend nights on the couch because he punched, kicked, and thrashed in his sleep. He was prone to outbursts of anger. He tried to avoid conversations about the war, and, when co-workers inevitably swapped battle stories, his heart pounded and his mind raced.

He says he tried to seek help, but to no avail. "I went to chaplains more times than I can count," Etterlee says. "I went to my chain of command, and basically got the runaround. Nobody put me on any kind of formal treatment program."

On top of his mental issues, Etterlee was struggling financially. He and his wife divorced. And then, during a training exercise at Fort Lewis, he suffered herniated discs in his back while dragging a fellow soldier in a simulated rescue situation. Despite the painful back injury, he was briefly redeployed to the Middle East. Back at the base again in 2010, Etterlee was at the end of his rope.

READ MORE HERE 

Reports of Military Suicides on the Rise: Will Licensed Counselors be Allowed to Help Now?

After over a decade as an Army Behavioral Health Specialist, BH-related experiences on 2 overseas deployments, from reports I was privy to while working in my active duty position in Washington, D.C., and from countless stories from military friends, co-workers, and clients, I have personally noted that interpersonal relationships were/are the most common theme amongst Troops contemplating or attempting suicide. This is something not “treated” with a diagnosis and a pill but that’s what our Troops typically get. Finally a U.S. publication has printed the truth: Our Troops need therapeutic counseling to address their most serious mental health needs. See the article link below.

The article reveals research clearly indicating that our Troops need the services of professionals who can specifically address the actual reasons behind the suicide rates, among other things. Troops’ mental health issues need to be addressed with actual counseling and therapy—not what they most often receive. As I’ve discussed in previous blogs, currently no military branch allows Licensed Counselors/Therapists to serve in the military as a Behavioral Health Officer. That is, of course, unless they are also a master’s level Social Worker, a Psychiatric Nurse, a Clinical or Counseling Psychologist, or a Psychiatrist. With the VA it’s not much better. Despite the efforts of organizations such as the ACA and despite Congress’s recent mandate to start hiring Licensed Counselors and Therapists, they are still only opening up the positions to Social Workers in most cases.

I have been running my mouth to anyone who would listen about this for years. Why is every military branch still excluding the Professional Counseling and Therapist professions? Why is the VA still not hiring professionals in THE fields of expertise to best address what Troops and their Families are needing most? NOT just diagnoses, NOT just pills, NOT just Army Social Workers pumped out of an accelerated program. But a well-rounded mental health care system. One that stops excluding professionals who are best suited to assist in the most common mental health issues.

READ MORE HERE

New Study: U.S. Military Suicide Rate Now Likely Double or Triple Civil War’s

Can medical data from the U.S. Civil War help us better understand military suicides?

Your recent Time cover story in the July 23 issue detailed the tragic facts that suicide rates among active-duty U.S. military personnel rose dramatically over the past decade. Military suicide rates doubled between 2001 and 2006, while remaining flat in the general population, with more military fatalities attributed to suicide than to actual combat in Afghanistan during that period.

To make matters worse, we do not understand why. Stressors related to military training, overseas deployment, transition back to civilian life, and combat are widely believed to be major driving factors. However, 31% of soldiers who committed suicide had never been deployed to a war zone. Furthermore, suicide rates in British military forces have also increased recently, though to a lesser degree, and do not exceed the rate of the general population.

Is there a lack of historical context?

Compounding our inability to understand this current phenomenon is the lack of adequate historical data to provide context on whether high suicide rates were typical of prior wars. Review of archival records from past wars might help shed some light on the current military suicide epidemic.

In a recent study (Frueh & Smith, 2012) we reviewed historical medical records on suicide deaths among Union forces during the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), a brutal war that many consider the first modern one, and for the year immediately after the war to estimate the suicide rate among its Union combatants. We also reviewed these same historical records for data on rates of alcohol abuse and other probable psychiatric illnesses.

White active-duty Union military personnel suicide rates ranged from 8.74 – 14.54 per 100,000 during the Civil War, and surged to 30.4 the year after the war. For black Union troops, rates ranged from 17.7 in the first year of their entry into the war (1863), to 0 in their second year, and 1.8 in the year after the war.

For comparison, the current rate of U.S. military suicides is just over 20 per 100,000 troops. To further put these figures into current context, there were more military suicides in 2010 (total suicides = 295), than during the entire four years of the Civil War, for which we found 278 documented Union suicides, and forces were of comparable size.

Thus, current suicide rates in the U.S. military are probably two to three times higher than those documented during the Civil War. Rates for other available psychological domains, including chronic alcoholism, “nostalgia,” and insanity, were extremely low (< 1.0%) by modern day standards during the Civil War.

Of course, we should interpret data from the U.S. Civil War cautiously, not simply because of its age, but because medicine and society in the 1860s were psychologically naïve. There was almost no awareness or understanding of mental illness then. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), now understood to be a common post-combat reaction did not exist in the medical literature at the time. Moreover, it is possible (but by no means certain) that the stigma of suicide and psychological problems may have biased against reporting.

What about combat intensity?

As noted by preeminent Harvard psychologist, Richard J. McNally (2012), these Civil War findings occurred within the context of extremely intense combat operations. In reviewing historical data on rates of killed in action, he notes that the death rate for Union forces during the Civil War was 48 times higher than for modern U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And yet, emotional problems and disability (from many different causes) has risen dramatically among U.S. military personnel and veterans, even since the Vietnam war.

READ MORE: http://ti.me/N07LOy

Army Conducts Largest Mental Health Study

12th Public Affairs Detachment  
Story by Sgt. Joshua Holt


CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – The Army Study To Assess Risk and Resilience in Service members research team is currently conducting a study to better understand the risks and factors associated with mental health, stress and suicide.

The Army STARRS research study is a partnership between The National Institute of Mental Health and the U.S. Army to identify the factors that may pose risks to soldiers’ emotional well-being and overall mental health.

“It’s the largest study of mental health risk and resilience that the military has ever conducted,” said Dr. Kevin Quinn, medical psychologist, NIMH program officer, Army STARRS. “We want to understand what might put a soldier at risk or what might make a soldier resilient to things that can increase or decrease the potential for suicide.”

“What we need to do, and what the study is designed to do is to contact a lot of soldiers,” said Quinn. “We’re on track with all the studies to have interviewed or surveyed 100,000 soldiers.”

The team assembled by NIMH includes participants from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, University of California, San Diego, University of Michigan, Harvard Medical School, NIMH and Army staff members.

The research will help the Army understand risks and factors of suicide, said Quinn. The rate of suicide has risen over the past five to seven years, but it is still an exceedingly rare event.

The study is designed to provide basic data to help aid other organizations studying prevention and risks associated with suicide, Quinn said.

Researchers look at the participant’s entire life, not just their military career.

“The basic component that’s involved in the majority of all the studies is the survey,” said Quinn. “We might look at the kinds of experiences that a soldier may have in the past before they ever entered the Army.”

The study will examine several different factors of the soldier’s life including: stress, deployments, exposures to trauma, family and personal history and demographics.

The survey can be taken in two different formats: a paper-and-pencil version and a computerized version. The method of testing would be determined by the research staff based on the location of the personnel being surveyed and the materials and equipment available.

Read more: http://www.dvidshub.net/news/92706/army-conducts-largest-mental-health-study#ixzz22tVUsVQx 

What are Some of DoD's Specialized Care Programs for Chronic Illnesses and PTSD?

Specialized Care Program (SCP) Track I

What Is It?

The SCP Track I is an intensive treatment program designed to address persistent disabling symptoms attributed by service members to deployment or other military exposure. It features three-weeks of multidisciplinary treatment of patients in small groups of three to eight individuals.

The program is based upon internationally recognized centers for management of chronic illness. It provides state-of-the-art care for those suffering from multiple symptoms such as:

Fatigue Headache Digestive Problems Weight Gain

Joint Pain Skin Rash Memory Problems Weight Loss

The Program's Goals

• Improve conditioning and decrease symptoms via a gradual, paced physical reactivation program.


• Provide opportunities to improve work performance and other activities of daily living.


• Promote overall well-being, symptom reduction, improved coping and decreased healthcare utilization through the practice of positive health behaviors and skills.


• Actively involve each participant in creating an individualized symptom management plan.

What Type of Care Is Provided?

The Specialized Care Program is designed to meet each participant's needs at a variety of levels. In addition to treatment of physical symptoms, there are interventions to assist in dealing with the stressors which accompany chronic pain and chronic illness such as loss of former abilities, strain on relationships, and transition from the military.

This program provides carefully coordinated delivery of care that takes into account many medical perspectives.

SCP Track I patients work closely with an internist and a health psychologist. Other members of the health care team include a, physical therapist, nurse, clinical social worker, and a nutritionist. A range of other medical specialists are also available depending on a patient's medical needs. 

The Program includes:

• A thorough review of medical history and past diagnostic testing with an internist
• Education regarding symptoms and personal health care management
• Support and education for family members
• Group and one-on-one meetings to discuss the impacts of physical symptoms, life stressors, and military experiences
• Information regarding benefits for veteran

Who Can Participate?

The SCP Track I is available to members of all armed services and components, as well as to family members affected by persistent symptoms. The Specialized Care Program emphasizes treatment over evaluation.

Prior to admission to the Specialized Care Program, each person's medical record is extensively reviewed by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals. The purpose of this review is to determine whether or not the Specialized Care Program would be an appropriate treatment

What Is the Specialized Care Program SCP Track II?

• Intensive, three-week, multi-disciplinary treatment program for patients with deployment-related stress, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and/or difficulties adjusting to re-deployment


• Comprehensive program designed to accommodate a need for treatment of operational stress and PTSD associated with recent combat deployments


• Focus on supportive treatment for service members from OEF/OIF with difficulties readjusting upon return who attribute concerns to operational stress or other operational issues and:

• Assistance through other treatment venues has been unsuccessful or


• Treatment resources at local and specialty care settings under existing standards of care have been exhausted or


• Treatment resources at local and specialty care settings are not available to meet the specific treatment needs of the patient and


• Patient continues to experiences difficulties in functional status and quality of life.


• Designed to prevent chronic PTSD which creates higher usage of medical/behavioral health resources


• Designed to reduce co-morbid health concerns such as depression, substance abuse, and domestic violence which contribute to high utilization of healthcare services

What Type of Care Is Provided by the SCP Track II?

• Each SCP-Track II treatment plan is designed to meet individual patient needs


• An internist evaluates/provides needed medical treatment for physical symptoms


• Program teaches patients strategies to deal with the physiological, behavioral, emotional, and cognitive effects of stress/trauma and their resultant consequences on social, occupational, emotional, and interpersonal functioning and quality of life


• Treatment program is group oriented, with three to eight individuals going through 3 week program as a group in order to facilitate trust and mutual support

What Are the Key Elements of Care for SCP Track II?

• Behavioral health and self-care strategies and treatment modalities including:

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy


• Group exposure therapy


• Physical reactivation


• Stress management (relaxation training, massage therapy, yoga and acupuncture)


• Educationally-based self-care focus with relapse prevention follow up


• Multiple phone call follow up contacts for 10 months with clinician to secure improvements


• Functional status emphasis and return to duty


• Multi-disciplinary staff (physician, psychologist, social worker, nurse, physical therapist)


• Structured, day-hospital milieu, 0730 - 1600 for three weeks, Mon.- Fri.


• Ease of access to other referral sources within the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) system

How Are People Referred to the Program?

• Military health system clinicians can refer patients meeting admission criteria to the program

• Patients must be ambulatory and capable of some exercise


• Patients musts be stable enough for independent functioning


• Referral must include evaluation by a mental health professional to rule out significant co-morbid mental illness, e.g., psychosis, suicidality, active substance abuse


• For healthcare facilities lacking evaluation assets, referrals for evaluation may be made to DHCC Ambulatory Care Program


• The individual's command must approve program attendance


• For additional referral information click here.

Information provided by Department Of Defense Deployment Health Clinical Center

VA: Help is Available to Encourage Veterans to Seek Mental Health Services

HOUSTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs now offers a free Telephone Call Center, “Coaching Into Care,” which provides assistance to family members and friends trying to encourage their Veteran to seek health care for possible readjustment and mental health issues.

“Coaching Into Care” is a valuable service for family members and friends of Veterans who might be reluctant to seek mental health care,” said Laura Marsh, M.D. Mental Health Care Line executive at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. “In the last three years, VA has devoted more people, programs, and resources toward mental health services to serve returning combat Veterans.”

The “Coaching Into Care” service offers free coaching to callers, with no limit to the number of calls they can make. The goal of these sessions is to connect a Veteran with VA care in his or her community with the help and encouragement of family members or friends. Callers will be coached on solving specific logistical problems and ways to encourage the Veteran to seek care while respecting his or her right to make personal decisions.

“One of the biggest obstacles Veterans and families face is overcoming the stigma attached to getting mental health care,” said Marsh, who is listed as one of the best doctors in the nation in the field of psychiatry. “Treatment works, but only when the Veteran actually receives it.”

The Telephone Call Center is available toll-free at 1-888-823-7458, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and online at www.mirecc.va.gov/coaching. Additional information about overcoming the stigma of mental health care is available at http://maketheconnection.net/.

If a Veteran is experiencing an acute crisis, callers should contact the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 for immediate help. “Coaching Into Care” works directly with the Veterans Crisis Line and the Caregiver Support Line to provide guidance and referrals.

Currently, almost 500 mental health clinicians and support staff serve Veterans in southeast Texas. In June, VA announced the hiring of an additional 33 clinicians and seven support personnel to support mental health operations at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center.

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CDC: Military Veterans Report Poorer Health

Disparities More Pronounced Beginning at Age 45 
Aug. 2, 2012 -- People who served in the military carry a heavier health burden than non-veterans. According to a CDC report released today, veterans are significantly more likely to have two or more chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, as well as other health problems.

Nearly 1 in 5 vets between the ages of 45 and 54 reported at least two chronic conditions compared to less than 15% of non-veterans. Close to 1 in 3 former service members who are 55 to 64 said they had more than one chronic disease compared to one-quarter of men who never served.

"The effects of military service on physical and psychological health, especially after extended overseas deployments, are complex," write the researchers. "There may also be long-term consequences of military service for the health and health care utilization of veterans as they age."

The report was produced by the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the CDC. It draws on data from the 2007-2010 National Health Interview Survey, and it covers veterans aged 25 to 64, directly comparing their health with that of non-veterans.

"Overall," the researchers write, "veterans aged 25-64 appear to be in poorer health than non-veterans, although not all differences in health are significant for all age groups."

Age Differences and Health

While younger veterans -- those aged 25 to 34 -- showed few differences with their non-veteran counterparts, some significant disparities appear as they get older.

"The health differences that appear at older ages suggest that the effects of military service on health may appear later in life," the researchers write.

Starting at age 35, veterans report having more work problems related to physical, mental, or emotional issues. As a group, 18% of veterans report that such problems limit the type or amount of work they can do, compared to 10% of non-veterans. This was especially pronounced among vets between the ages of 45 and 54.

Veterans in that latter age group were also more likely to report other serious health problems. While veterans in general described their health as fair or poor more often than men who never served (16% compared to 10%), those between 45 and 54 were the most likely to do so.

Psychological Distress

Serious psychological distress also struck 45- to 54-year-old veterans with greater frequency than other age groups. They were the only age group to report significantly higher amounts of such distress -- defined by the researchers' as "unspecified but potentially diagnosable mental illness" -- compared to non-veterans.

The researchers note that this report only considers "people with the most severe psychological distress. Other measures of mental health that capture a wider range of mental disorders might show more differences between veterans and non-veterans."

Nearly 9 out of 10 surveyed men who served in the military carry health insurance. That's significantly higher than non-veterans, and, the authors write, it "may influence their access to health care and the likelihood of being diagnosed with various conditions."

READ HERE: http://men.webmd.com/news/20120801/cdc-military-veterans-report-poorer-health

Study: 25% of War Deaths Medically Preventable - (Under perfect medical conditions)

Thoughts on this? 

By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jun 28, 2012 16:04:10 EDT

A new study finds that nearly a quarter of the 4,596 combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011 were “potentially survivable,” meaning that under ideal conditions — and with the right equipment or latest medical techniques — the troops may have had a fighting chance.

But the study also notes that 90 percent of the deaths occurred before the injured reached a medical facility: of the 4,090 troops who suffered mortal wounds on the battlefield, 1,391 died instantly and 2,699 succumbed before arriving at a treatment center.

Just 506 service members made it to a field hospital before dying of injuries — an indication that military researchers should work to improve field treatment capability, says trauma surgeon Col. Brian Eastridge with the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research.

“This study does not imply we are leaving our warriors on the battlefield languishing. ‘Potentially survivable’ implies there are potential improvements — areas we may look to where we could alter outcomes so they don’t die in the immediate phase,” Eastridge said.

Combat survivability is at an all-time high in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Ten percent of all injuries resulted in death, as opposed to Vietnam, where the fatality rate was 16.1 percent, or World War II, with a 19.1 percent fatality rate.

But there is more the military medical community can do to improve outcomes, Eastridge argues.

“There’s a tremendous amount of information we can gain and potentially improve clinical care if we know why casualties die on the battlefield,” he said.

Among the potential fields for more research is hemorrhage control: The study showed that uncontrolled blood loss was the leading cause of death in 90 percent of the potentially survivable battlefield cases and in 80 percent of those who died in a military treatment facility.

“Bleed-outs” — especially those caused by groin or neck wounds — torment medics, corpsmen and physicians who can do little to stanch blood loss caused by major arterial injuries.

Two devices, the Combat Ready Clamp and Abdominal Aortic Tourniquet, have been built to treat these injuries, but the Combat Ready Clamp, now being fielded, is primarily for treating single groin or pelvic injuries and is ineffective against wounds involving the genital region or the loss of both legs.

COMPLETE STORY HERE: Study: 25% of war deaths medically preventable - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

What Does Today's Supreme Court Ruling Mean for Veterans?

Veterans and the Affordable Care Act- Just the Facts, No Opinions Below

Our nation is committed to the men and women who have served this country.  That is why the Affordable Care Act brings new choices in health care for veterans like you – and your family.

The Affordable Care Act does not affect the health care you may already receive from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). If you are eligible for VA health care, you will remain eligible under health reform.

But it’s important to know that NOTHING in the law will affect your access to the care you currently receive through VA. Nor does it change the TRICARE or TRICARE for Life benefits your family may receive.

 In addition:

• If you are a veteran enrolled in the VA health program, you do not need to obtain additional coverage. You may purchase additional coverage if you want, but there is nothing in the law requiring you to do so.
• Even if you receive VA health care, under the law you will have a new option to enroll in an additional insurance plan through the new health insurance Exchanges, which open in 2014.
• If you are a veteran with private insurance coverage, you will benefit from the new consumer protections. This means that you will not be dropped from your insurance company if you get sick or injured and you won’t have to worry about lifetime limits on how much insurance companies will cover if you get sick.
• If you are a veteran who is not eligible for VA health care or other coverage, you and your family may be eligible to receive tax credits for insurance you buy in the exchanges. The exchanges will provide access to much needed care to Veterans who are uninsured and who not eligible for VA health care.

READ THE FULL LAW HERE: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/full/index.html

SOURCE: http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2010/07/veterans-affordable-care-act.html#

The Women Veterans Bill of Rights

The Women Veterans Bill of Rights states that women veterans should have the following rights:

(1) The right to a coordinated, comprehensive, primary women’s health care, at every Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility, including the recognized models of best practices, systems, and structures for care delivery that ensure that every woman veteran has access to a Department of Veterans Affairs primary care provider who can meet all her primary care needs, including gender-specific, acute and chronic illness, preventive, and mental health care.

(2) The right to be treated with dignity and respect at all Department of Veterans Affairs facilities.

(3) The right to innovation in care delivery promoted and incentivized by the Veterans Health Administration to support local best practices fitted to the particular configuration and women veteran population.

(4) The right to request and get treatment by clinicians with specific training and experience in women’s health issues.

(5) The right to enhanced capabilities of medical providers, clinical support, non-clinical, and administrative, to meet the comprehensive health care needs of women veterans.

(6) The right to request and expect gender equity in provision of clinical health care services.

(7) The right to equal access to health care services as that of their male counterparts.

(8) The right to parity to their male veteran counterpart regarding the outcome of performance measures of health care services.

(9) The right to be informed, through outreach campaigns, of benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and to be included in Department outreach materials for any benefits and service to which they are entitled.

(10) The right to be featured proportionately, including by age and ethnicity, in Department outreach materials, including electronic and print media that clearly depict them as being the recipient of the benefits and services provided by the Department.

(11) The right to be recognized as an important separate population in new strategic plans for service delivery within the health care system of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(12) The right to equal consideration in hiring and employment for any job to which they apply.

(13) The right to equal consideration in securing Federal contracts.

(14) The right to equal access and accommodations in homeless programs that will meet their unique family needs.

(15) The right to have their claims adjudicated equally, fairly, and accurately without bias or disparate treatment.

(16) The right to have their military sexual trauma and other injuries compensated in a way that reflects the level of trauma sustained.

(17) The right to expect that all veteran service officers, especially those who are trained by the Department of Veterans Affairs Training Responsibility Involvement Preparation program for claims processing, are required to receive training to be aware of and sensitive to the signs of military sexual trauma, domestic violence, and personal assault.

(18) The right to the availability of female personnel to assist them in the disability claims application and appellate processes of the Department.

(19) The right to the availability of female compensation and pension examiners.

(20) The right to expect specialized training be provided to disability rating personnel regarding military sexual trauma and gender-specific illnesses so that these claims can be adjudicated more accurately.

(21) The right to expect the collection of gender-specific data on disability ratings, for the performance of longitudinal and trend analyses, and for other applicable purposes.

(22) The right to a method to identify and track outcomes for all claims involving personal assault trauma, regardless of the resulting disability.

(23) The right for women veterans’ programs and women veteran coordinators to be measured and evaluated for performance, consistency, and accountability.

(24) The right to burial benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.