veterans' health care

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Obama Honors Oldest Living WWII Vet

Lays wreath at Arlington on this Veterans Day

(Newser) - President Obama today paid tribute to those who have served in the nation's military, including one of the nation's oldest veterans, 107-year-old Richard Overton. "This is the life of one American veteran, living proud and strong in the land he helped keep free," Obama said during...

Bin Laden Shooter Only Has Himself to Blame: Admiral

SEAL knew what he was giving up: admiral

(Newser) - The SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden may be missing out on a pension, healthcare for his family, and other benefits, but that's on him, according to the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command. Rear Adm. Sean Pybus says "the Shooter," as he was called in the...

Bin Laden Killer's Plight Not So Desperate: Report

The government does cover 'the Shooter's' health care: 'Stars and Stripes'

(Newser) - Yesterday's Esquire opus on the SEAL Team 6 shooter who killed Osama bin Laden, left the Navy after 16 years, and now finds himself unemployed with no pension or health coverage, made waves. And it continues to today, thanks to the assertion by Stars and Stripes that the piece,...

I Killed Osama bin Laden— and Now I'm Unemployed

'Esquire' talks to 'the Shooter'

(Newser) - In what will likely be the day's second-biggest talker , Esquire and the Center for Investigative Reporting have published an interview with the SEAL Team 6 member who shot Osama bin Laden. Phil Bronstein, the executive chair of CIR, spent a year talking to the anonymous shooter (referred to as...

Even Minor Head Injuries Boost Risk of Dementia

Survey of 280K veterans turns up sobering results

(Newser) - Even mild brain injuries can significantly increase the chance of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, says the largest brain injury survey ever conducted, and the first to concentrate on veterans. The study examined more than 280,000 veterans who were at least 55 and received care at...

Vets With PTSD May Have Been Denied Benefits

Military is reviewing thousands of records

(Newser) - The military is speeding up a review of the records of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans discharged with post-traumatic stress disorder to determine whether they were improperly denied benefits. The agreement stems from a class action lawsuit filed by seven combat veterans who alleged the military illegally denied benefits...

Vets' Families Seek Pay as Caregivers

Say disability money doesn't cover needs for injured troops

(Newser) - Wounded soldiers receive disability pensions based on the extent of their injuries, but for many families that money doesn't come close to covering the costs of caregiving. After Matt Keil returned home a quadriplegic, his wife, Tracy, quit her job to care for him, losing a $58,000 per-year income...

Obama: I Must 'Earn the Trust' of US Military

Questions provisions for troops, use of civilian contractors

(Newser) - Because he hasn't served in the military, Barack Obama says, “I have to earn the trust of men and women in uniform.” In a wide-ranging interview with Military Times, the presumptive Democratic nominee vowed to raise pay and improve health care for service members, promised he would not...

Democrats in House Catch Populist Fever
Democrats in House Catch
Populist Fever
analysis
Jun 25, 2008 6:39 PM CDT

Democrats in House Catch Populist Fever

Pelosi readies bills for airline passsengers, vets, among others

(Newser) - Despite conventional wisdom suggesting Congress would be in a holding pattern until November, a new surge of energy behind Democratic domestic spending bills is poised to deliver populist promise this summer. An airline passenger bill of rights—an “unapologetic attempt to position lawmakers on the side of harried travelers,...

Obama Wants Probe of VA Drug Tests
Obama Wants Probe of VA Drug Tests
Jun 18, 2008 12:23 PM CDT

Obama Wants Probe of VA Drug Tests

'Outrageous' that suicide-linked drugs were tested on vets

(Newser) - Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John Cornyn are seeking a probe into reports that veterans had been recruited for tests on drugs linked to suicide, ABC News reports. An ABC News/Washington Times story noted that vets were given the anti-smoking drug Chantix in government tests, but for more than three...

VA Doctor Discouraged Post-Traumatic Diagnoses

Email urged staffers to save disability costs

(Newser) - A team leader at a veterans' medical center in Texas sent staffers an email urging them to avoid diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder, the Washington Post reports. "Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD...

US Sent 43,000 'Unfit' Troops to War

Soldiers deemed medically unfit deployed anyway

(Newser) - The US has sent more than 43,000 troops deemed medically unfit for combat to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, USA Today reports. Since 2003 soldiers deemed non-deployable by medical officers have shipped anyway, according to Pentagon documents, with unit commanders overruling doctors. “It is a consequence of the...

'Sorry' Gates: We Let Down Our Soldiers

He regrets poor treatment for Iraq, Afghanistan vets

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates admitted yesterday that the US military made mistakes in taking care of soldiers back from Afghanistan and Iraq, reports Reuters. He said he regretted that veterans had received inadequate care for physical and mental problems, particularly those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Gates also acknowledged that...

Military Families Sue VA Over Suicides

Agency doesn't do enough for veterans' mental health, suit says

(Newser) - Veterans Affairs hasn’t done enough to stem the “rising tide” of suicides and mental health problems, according to a class action lawsuit going to trial this week. Roughly 20% of deployed US troops are suffering from mental illness, a recent study shows, and an average of 18 kill...

McCain Says No More After NYT Slam
McCain Says
No More After NYT Slam
Nov 12, 2007 6:47 PM CST

McCain Says No More After NYT Slam

But his campaign will suffer sans soft money support, Time blogs

(Newser) - John McCain may be moral enough to help sink his own campaign, a Time blog muses. Today the senator asked “all of my donors and supporters to cease and desist" from spending money "that might be construed as benefiting my campaign indirectly.” Why? Because the New York ...

Injured Veterans Sue US
Injured Veterans Sue US
Jul 24, 2007 4:53 AM CDT

Injured Veterans Sue US

Class action suit targets VA for 'shameful failures' in treatment

(Newser) - Two veterans groups representing troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing the US government for "shameful failures" in medical treatment, Reuters reports. The Department of Veterans Affairs is swamped with a backlog of 600,000 health claims and is "abandoning" soldiers returning home, the class-action...

Head of Veterans Affairs Quits
Head of Veterans Affairs Quits
Jul 17, 2007 3:47 PM CDT

Head of Veterans Affairs Quits

Secretary's short tenure long on scandals and other woes

(Newser) - The secretary of Veterans Affairs, the head of the second-biggest federal department, is stepping down and will be replaced by October 1, reports the Washington Post. For 2½ turbulent years, Jim Nicholson, a decorated Vietnam vet and former RNC chair, presided over a department beset by criticism and overwhelmed by...

17 Stories