Veterans
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
In the letter, the coalition asks the Department to develop an automatic discharge program to ensure that all eligible veterans can have their student loans forgiven, rather than requiring these veterans to take affirmative steps to seek loan forgiveness – an approach that that has proven ineffective.
“Today I’ve asked the Department of Education to automatically discharge the loans of veterans with permanent and total disabilities,” said Attorney General Becerra. “These veterans have made significant sacrifices for our country. They deserve respect and honor, not additional steps and red tape in seeking student loan relief.”
The Department of Education has identified over 42,000 veterans who are eligible for total and permanent disability discharges based on information received from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Collectively, these veterans carry over $1 billion in dischargeable student loan debt – nearly $24,000 each on average. Yet fewer than 9,000 of these eligible veterans had applied for discharges as of April 2018, and over 25,000 were in default.
In the letter, the coalition cites these numbers as demonstrating the inadequacy of the current approach.
The coalition asks the department to develop a process to automatically discharge the loans of veterans identified as permanently disabled, halt collection efforts, and clear the credit reports of negative reporting related to student loans.
A copy of the letter can be found here.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
For information about the association and the group’s 98th annual reunion in Tucson, Arizona, from Sept. 18 to 22, contact Bob Haynes at
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
Aligned with the National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide, the program, which began in early 2019, is designed to increase community involvement within VISN 23 by leveraging the reach and impact of local stakeholders.
“We recognize that just as suicide has no single determining cause, no single agency can prevent veteran suicide,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “In working with our partners on this pilot program, we are adding new opportunities to provide our veterans with whole-health solutions before they reach a point of crisis.”
Charged with carrying out the program’s multiple objectives, VISN 23 has deployed 10 education and outreach specialists, who have received formal training from VA leadership and PERU on how to:
– Assess community readiness for increased engagement efforts.
– Build local coalitions to facilitate wider and more frequent touchpoints with veterans.
– Use community-specific public health data to tailor interventions to population needs.
– Provide metrics on program effectiveness to inform national implementation strategy.
Learn more about VA’s suicide prevention resources and programs at www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention .
Veterans who are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, and those who know a veteran in crisis, can call Veterans Crisis Line for confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Call 800-273-8255 and press 1, send a text message to 838255 or chat online at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat .
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
In effect since March 22, the agreement will give 400 Veterans the opportunity to participate in the Virta Treatment, which can help individuals safely and sustainably achieve glycemic control while reducing use of medications.
This diabetes care will be provided for up to one year at no cost to VA or Veteran participants.
“Partnering with community providers facilitates a more comprehensive approach to care,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Many Veterans have type 2 diabetes, and it is strongly linked to obesity, so we are excited to explore Virta Health’s approach to tackling this debilitating and costly condition.”
Currently, VA offers medical care, education, counseling, weight loss programs and blood glucose monitoring for more than 1.5 million Veterans with type 2 diabetes. This partnership provides a small group of Veterans access to Virta’s proprietary, individualized, low-carbohydrate nutrition protocols on a 24/7 continuous remote care platform from medical providers and health coaches, an approach currently not widely in use at VA.
Virta Health, a licensed medical provider in all 50 states, focuses on treating type 2 diabetes through noninvasive means. Their services, available 24/7, include personalized nutrition, peer support, health coaching and physician monitoring, all delivered remotely.
This partnership exemplifies the work of the VHA Office of Community Engagement (OCE), which supports and develops community and corporate partnerships to benefit Veterans. For information regarding developing a nonmonetary partnership with VHA, contact OCE at https://www.va.gov/healthpartnerships/ .
Veterans interested in the program should visit www.virtahealth.com/veterans. For more information about VA health care, visit www.va.gov/health .
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
The milestone, which was reached April 18, is the result of years of outreach, recruitment and enrollment efforts to help to bring precision medicine to the forefront of VA health care.
“While having 750,000 veteran partners is a momentous achievement, there is still much work to be done,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “MVP is on track to continue the march to 1 million veteran partners and beyond in the next few years.”
From its first enrollees in 2011, the program has successfully expanded into one of the largest, most robust research cohorts of its kind in the world. MVP was designed to help researchers understand how genes affect health and illness. Having a better knowledge of a person’s genetic makeup may help to prevent illness and improve treatment of disease.
The enrollment milestone is significant because as more participants enroll, researchers have a more representative sample of the entire Veteran population to help improve health care for everyone.
Enrollees in the program include veterans from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam. MVP also has the largest representation of minorities of any genomic cohort in the U.S.
Research using MVP data is already underway with several studies, including efforts focused on understanding the genetics of post-traumatic stress disorder, diabetes, heart disease, suicide prevention and other topics.
Several significant research findings have already been published in high-impact scientific journals. The knowledge gained from research can eventually lead to better treatments and preventive measures for many common illnesses, especially those common among combat Veterans, such as PTSD.
MVP will continue to grow its informatics infrastructure and expand its partner base, to include Veterans beyond those enrolled in VA care. VA is also working on a collaboration with the Department of Defense, or DoD, to make MVP enrollment available to DoD beneficiaries, including active-duty service members.
To learn more about MVP, visit www.research.va.gov/mvp . For more information or to participate, call toll-free 866-441-6075.
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
The recent change to the Home Loan Guaranty program aims to improve benefits delivery to Veteran homebuyers.
“Through an internal quality improvement effort, VA has put a plan in place to better inform Veterans through key communications when the law allows VA to waive the fee for a veteran,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie.
VA also modified the “home loan welcome” letter to make sure veterans know they may qualify for a loan fee waiver, should they later obtain a VA disability compensation award.
Historically, VA tasked lenders with verifying the “exempt” status of veteran homebuyers and the department would identify waiver cases using its own internal loan audit process or by relying on veterans contacting VA directly.
Further internal procedural changes will provide a more regular review of program data and VA will soon issue policy and procedural changes to ensure a veteran’s up-to-date status for the fee waiver is correctly identified.
A major issue under review is how VA credits borrowers who, after loan closing, were awarded disability compensation with retroactive effective dates.
The department is working to determine how far VA can go to provide relief, given the current restrictions of applicable laws.
VA’s ongoing quality review looked at millions of loans dating back to 1998 originations. Since the initiative is ongoing, VA has not totaled how many borrowers might be helped by the new efforts. VA notes that it routinely returns funding fees when appropriate.
Since 2014, the department has provided an average total of $75 to $100 million to roughly 5,000 veterans each year.
More information about the VA funding fees and refunds is available in VA’s Lenders Handbook. Veterans who think they may be eligible for a refund should visit VA’s Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/purchaseco_loan_fee.asp.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The clinic is located at 15145 Lakeshore Dr, Clearlake.
The VA2K is a short 1.2 mile fitness walk that encourages VA employees and community members to adopt active lifestyles.
The event is free, but participants are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to be donated to homeless and in need veterans.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
U.S. Air Force Airman Timothy B. Beffa graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
He is a 2017 graduate of Upper Lake High School in Upper Lake, California.
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
The campaign aims to demystify mental health treatment, build awareness of available mental health resources, and encourage family members and friends to start the conversation with a veteran going through a hard time.
“VA continues to be the nation’s vanguard in reshaping the conversation around mental health treatment and recovery,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Since May is Mental Health Month, make this the moment you start the conversation with a loved one or reach out for support if you need it.”
The Moment When campaign will highlight many moments in the broader mental health recovery process: from the moment when a Veteran reached out for support, to the moment when the Veteran realized treatment was working.
Throughout the month of May and beyond, VA encourages veterans and their families to visit www.MaketheConnection.net/MHM to explore stories of recovery and find local resources.
Veterans who are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, and those who know a veteran in crisis, can call VCL for confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Call 800-273-8255 and press 1, send a text message to 838255 or chat online at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.
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