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Veterans
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This newest partnership enhances ongoing efforts between the country’s two largest public-private health-care payment organizations to help America’s veterans by leveraging the gains made by CMS.
“The VA-HHS alliance represents the latest example of VA’s commitment to find partners to assist with identifying new and innovative ways to seek out fraud, waste and abuse and ensure every tax dollar given to VA supports veterans,” said VA Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin. “This effort marks another step toward achieving President Trump’s 10-point plan to reform the VA by collaborating with our federal partners to improve VA’s ability to investigate fraud and wrongdoing in VA programs.”
CMS continues to focus on reducing and eliminating fraud, waste and abuse in Medicare, and in 2010, it established the Center for Program Integrity to help with this work.
CMS estimates that its program integrity activities saved Medicare operations $17 billion in fiscal 2015. Other HHS combined efforts – including law enforcement – contributed to greater program savings.
VA plans to capitalize on the advancements in analytics CMS has made by concentrating on its use of advanced technology, statistics and data analytics to improve fraud detection and prevention efforts.
Additionally, in November 2017, VA invited industry experts to provide information on the latest commercial sector tools and techniques to enhance VA’s fraud detection capabilities.
In April, VA will invite these industry experts to demonstrate their capabilities for detecting and preventing fraud, waste and abuse and recovering improper payments.
“We have a special obligation to keep America’s promise to those who have served our country and ensure that veterans receive high-quality and accessible health care,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “CMS is sharing lessons learned and expertise to support VA to identify waste and fraud and eliminate these abuses of the public trust. Using state-of-the-art data analytics, CMS is partnering with VA to better detect and prevent wrongdoing in its programs.”
By using CMS’ successes in its program integrity protocols, VA will be able to close existing gaps in its own claims payment process.
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Leonard, 22, of San Francisco, was killed in action in Korea in 1950 but his remains were not recovered until last year.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that Army Pfc. Leonard's remains have been identified and that he will be buried on Jan. 23 with full military honors.
In July 1950, Army Pfc. Leonard was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
On July 20, Army Pfc. Leonard’s regiment arrived east of Yongdong, South Korea, and began preparing to assume the defense of the city.
By July 23, Korean People’s Army (KPA) units began attacking American defenses and took control of Yongdong by July 25. Army Pfc. Leonard was reported killed in action on July 25, 1950.
In June 1952, the 392nd Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted searches of the area around Yongdong, but Army Pfc. Leonard’s remains were not identified.
On March 30, 2017, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense Agency for Killed in Action Recovery and Identification (MAKRI) recovered remains near Yongdong village, which were subsequently sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
Scientists from DPAA used material evidence as well as dental and anthropological analyses in the identification of the remains.
In memorial, Gov. Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol.
Army Pfc. Leonard's family will receive a letter of condolence from the governor.
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VA will begin processing claims for reimbursement of reasonable costs that were only partially paid by the veteran’s other health insurance, or OHI. Those costs may include hospital charges, professional fees and emergency transportation, such as ambulances.
This change comes on the heels of an earlier announcement that VA was taking immediate action to address delayed payments to community providers, found here.
Effective Jan. 9, VA updated a portion of its regulations in response to an April 2016 U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims decision that stated VA could no longer deny reimbursement when OHI pays a portion of the treatment expenses.
VA will apply the updated regulations to claims pending with VA on or after April 8, 2016, and to new claims. By law, VA still may not reimburse veterans for the costs of copayments, cost shares and deductibles required by their OHI.
VA will work directly with community providers to get additional information needed to review and process these claims. Previous claims do not have to be resubmitted unless requested by VA.
More information on the amended regulation along with guidance may be found at https://www.va.gov/COMMUNITYCARE/programs/veterans/Emergency_Care.asp.
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With this announcement, VA becomes the only health care system in the country to post information on its opioid-prescribing rates.
The disclosure is part of VA’s promise of transparency to veterans and the American people, and builds on VA’s strong record of transparency disclosures – including on wait times, accountability actions, employee settlements and the secretary’s travel – under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump over the past year.
“Many veterans enrolled in the VA health-care system suffer from high rates of chronic pain and the prescribing of opioids may be necessary medically,” Secretary Shulkin said. “And while VA offers other pain-management options to reduce the need for opioids, it is important that we are transparent on how we prescribe opioids, so veterans and the public can see what we are doing in our facilities and the progress we have made over time.”
Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway said, "Declaring the opioid crisis a nationwide public health emergency was a call to action by the president. His administration is exploring all tools and authorities within their agencies to address this complex challenge costing lives. Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. Shulkin is heeding that call; the VA is now the first hospital system in the country to post information on its opioid prescribing rates. This is an innovative way to raise awareness, increase transparency and mitigate the dangers of over-prescribing."
The interactive map shows data over a five-year period (2012-2017) and does not include veterans’ personal information. The posted information shows opioid-dispensing rates for each facility and how much those rates have changed over time.
It is important to note that because the needs and conditions of veterans may be different at each facility, rates may also be different for that reason, and cannot be compared directly.
The prescribing rate information will be updated semi-annually, on Jan. 15 and July 15 of each year.
As a learning health system using the current best evidence to learn and improve, VA continually develops and refines best practices for the care of veterans. Releasing this data will facilitate the sharing of best practices in pain management and opioid prescribing among doctors and medical center directors.
Highlights from the data include:
– A 41-percent drop in opioid-prescribing rates across VA between 2012 and 2017.
– Ninety-nine percent of facilities decreased their prescribing rates.
– San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Cleveland, Ohio, top the list of medical centers with the lowest prescribing rates, at 3 percent.
– El Paso, Texas, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, are most improved, and decreased prescribing rates by more than 60 percent since 2012. El Paso’s prescribing rate decreased by 66 percent, and Fayetteville’s decreased by 65 percent.
VA currently uses a multifaceted approach to reduce the need for the use of opioids among veterans.
Since 2012, the Opioid Safety Initiative has focused on the safe use and slow and steady decrease in VA opioid dispensing. VA also uses other therapies, including physical therapy and complementary and integrative health alternatives, such as meditation, yoga and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Information about the VA Opioid Safety Initiative may be found at https://www.va.gov/PAINMANAGEMENT/Opioid_Safety_Initiative_OSI.asp.
A link to the interactive map on VA’s opioid use across the nation may be found at https://www.data.va.gov/story/department-veterans-affairs-opioid-prescribing-data.
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Same-day services means a veteran with an urgent need for primary care and mental health-care receives services that may include: a face-to-face visit with a clinician; advice provided during a call with a nurse; a telehealth or video care visit; an appointment made with a specialist; or a prescription filled the same day, depending upon what best meets the needs of the Veteran.
“We made a commitment to our nation’s veterans that we would work to reduce wait times and improve access, and we are doing it,” said VA Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin. “We were able to meet this goal, in large part, because of the concerted focus of our staff who care for our veterans in facilities across the country.”
Since 2014, VA has concentrated its efforts on improving access and meeting the urgent health-care needs of veterans. In 2016, all of VA’s medical centers offered same-day services for primary and mental health services.
In addition to offering same-day services, VA has reduced patient wait times. VA also implemented a new process to ensure timely follow-up appointments for time-sensitive medical needs. More than 100,000 such appointments have been completed.
In 2017, veterans completed over 57.5 million appointments and VA clinicians saw almost six million patients.
To view access information about each facility nationwide, visit https://www.accesstocare.va.gov/. The information provided at this link is not offered by any major national hospital organization in the country.
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The governor and first lady extend their deepest condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.
In memorial, Governor Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol. Staff Sgt. Schenck’s family will receive a letter of condolence from the Governor.
Staff Sgt. Eric C. Schenck, 33, of Placerville, died on Dec. 8 in Pyeongtaek, Republic of Korea, from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident while returning from a field training exercise.
The incident is under investigation.
Staff Sgt. Schenck was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Suwon Air Base, Korea.
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Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the appointment Jan. 8.
She will lead CalVet’s Minority and Underrepresented Veterans Division, which advocates on behalf of minority and LGBT veteran communities, seeks to identify and address gaps in service, and supports activities that address the unique needs of these veterans.
“Liz brings a wealth of experience and a passion for serving veterans that will help to improve our outreach to minority and underrepresented veteran communities to ensure that every veteran receives the benefits they have earned,” said CalVet Secretary Vito Imbasciani MD. “We are proud to welcome her aboard.”
“As somebody who served in the military from an underrepresented community and coming from generations of family who served in uniform from an underrepresented community, it is an absolute honor to be able to represent this population of veterans,” said Perez. “My commitment is to ensure that underrepresented veterans receive the benefits that they have earned and that the needs of this community are heard and addressed.”
A Navy veteran, Perez, 39, served as an aviation logistics specialist from 1997 to 2005. Since 2010, she has been president and founder at GC Green Inc.
She was a director in business development at Xnergy from 2007 to 2011 and a branch manager at Ferguson Contractors from 2005 to 2007. She was a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Delegation in Israel in 2016 and a 2013 White House Veteran Champion of Change.
Perez is a Truman National Security Project fellow and a member of the California Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development Initiative Board, Disabled Veterans Business Alliance of California San Diego Chapter Board, American Indian Chamber of Commerce of California San Diego Chapter, American Legion Post 365 and the California Nations Indian Gaming Association.
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This executive order directs the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security to develop a plan to ensure that all new veterans receive mental health care for at least one year following their separation from service.
The three departments will work together and develop a joint action plan to ensure that the 60 percent of new veterans who currently do not qualify for enrollment in health care – primarily due to lack of verified service connection related to the medical issue at hand – will receive treatment and access to services for mental health care for one year following their separation from service.
“As service members transition to veteran status, they face higher risk of suicide and mental health difficulties,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin. “During this critical phase, many transitioning service members may not qualify for enrollment in health care. The focus of this executive order is to coordinate federal assets to close that gap.”
The Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security will work to expand mental health programs and other resources to new Veterans to the year following departure from uniformed service, including eliminating prior time limits and:
– Expanding peer community outreach and group sessions in the VA Whole Health initiative from 18 Whole Health Flagship facilities to all facilities. Whole Health includes wellness and establishing individual health goals.
– Extending the Department of Defense’s “Be There Peer Support Call and Outreach Center” services to provide peer support for veterans in the year following separation from the uniformed service.
– Expanding the Department of Defense’s Military One Source, which offers resources to active duty members, to include services to separating service members to one year beyond service separation.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the VA to ensure veterans who have served our country continue to receive the important mental health care and services they need and deserve,” said Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis.
“The Department of Homeland Security is where many veterans find a second opportunity to serve their country – nearly 28 percent of our workforce has served in the armed forces, in addition to the 49,000 active duty members of the United States Coast Guard,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen.
“This critically important executive order will provide our service members with the support they need as they transition to civilian life. These dedicated men and women have put their lives on the line to protect our nation and our American way of life, and we owe them a debt we can never repay. We look forward to working with the VA and DOD to implement the President’s EO,” said Secretary Nielsen.
“In signing this executive order, President Trump has provided clear guidance to further ensure our veterans and their families know that we are focusing on ways to improve their ability to move forward and achieve their goals in life after service,” said Secretary Shulkin.
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Through a Federal Register notice, VA announced a 30-day comment period to hear from stakeholders on whether and how PCAFC should be refined to support Veterans and their family caregivers.
“With this opportunity, VA is following through on our promise to provide better service and improve consistency for the program,” said VA Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin. “We’ve heard participants’ concerns and encourage them to share their personal experiences and perspectives to help us make changes.”
VA will use feedback, requested through responses to questions, to guide any future regulatory modifications to support family caregivers of Veterans most in need, while also improving the program under the current law.
Through PCAFC, VA provides support for certain family caregivers of eligible Veterans seriously injured in the line of duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001, including a monthly stipend, access to health-care for eligible caregivers, counseling, training and respite care.
For information about how to submit comments, visit the Federal Register notice.
More information about the VA Caregiver Support Program is available at www.caregiver.va.gov.