Trump considering 'public-private option' for VA

 President-elect Donald Trump is considering a "public-private option" for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a transition team official said Wednesday.

"We think we have to have kind of a ... public-private option because some vets love the VA ... some vets want to go to the VA," a senior transition official told reporters, according to pool reports.

"So, the idea is to come up with a solution that solves the problem. And it's not the easiest thing in the world because you've got all these little kingdoms out there, which is hard," the senior official continued.

"You know, in the federal government it's hard to break things up and start over. So, those are the types of things that people are talking about."

Trump spoke often about veterans and reforming the VA during his campaign.

In October, he outlined a plan to allow competition between VA facilities and non-VA hospitals, saying he would allow any veteran to see a doctor that accepts Medicare and receive care.

The senior official said Wednesday that the public-private idea is "one of the options on the table."

"Definitely an option on the table to have a system where potentially vets can choose either/or, or all private," the official said.

The senior official also said the president-elect is considering setting up an advisory committee to "help us navigate through what's a very complicated process, providing healthcare to veterans."

But the official said nothing has been formalized yet.

TAGS DONALD TRUMP

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Saturday announced a plan to reform the veterans’ health system at a rally in Norfolk, Va.

“We’re going to take care of those wounded warriors and we’re going to take care of our vets better than anybody. “He said, speaking in front the USS Wisconsin — the same spot where now-Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was formally introduced as Mitt Romney’s running mate in 2012.

Trump promised that in his administration, veterans would receive better healthcare more quickly.

"The plan will ensure our veterans get the care they need, wherever and whenever they need it," he said.

Trump said that he would institute policies that would see Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities competing with non-VA hospitals. He said that under his plan, any veteran could go to a doctor that accepts Medicare and receive care.

In a winding indictment of the VA system, he targeted Veterans Health Administration hospitals that came under fire in the last year for keeping long wait lists of veterans who needed crucial care.

“Think about me going to my doctor’s office and waiting four days,” he said. "If I wait 15 minutes, I’m angry as hell at the doctor.”

Trump said the VA system needed to be maintained but reformed.

“I don’t want to get rid of it, I want to supplement it," he said.

He promised to fire "the corrupt and incompetent VA executives who let our veterans down" and update the VA's policies to meet the needs of the younger veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The fact that many VA hospitals don’t permanently staff OB-GYN doctors shows an utter lack of respect for the growing number of female veterans,” Trump said, pledging that under his leadership, every VA hospital would have doctors specializing in women's health.

Veterans hospitals would, he added, put in place technology that connect patients to doctors and allows them to manage their care.

Trump's campaign said Saturday in a plan posted on his website that he would also focus his efforts on building mental health programs for veterans. 

He promised to increase the funding available "for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury and suicide prevention services."

"More funding will also support research on best practices and state of the art treatments to keep our veterans alive, healthy and whole," the campaign said. 

"With these steps, the Trump plan will help the veteran community put the unnecessary stigma surrounding mental health behind them and instead encourage acceptance and treatment in our greater society."

Trump, who appeared to break from his extemporaneous remarks to consult a document while speaking about his policy proposal, said he would also invest in policies to help ease the transition from active duty to civilian life.

He pledged to institute programs to help veterans start businesses and find employment, including by incentivizing companies to hire veterans. 

His administration would also partner with non-profit organizations working on veterans issues, he said.

- Updated at 4:52 p.m.

TAGS DONALD TRUMP

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W: Nevada Attorney General, Office of Military Legal Assistance

 2017 Vegas Flyer.pdf947 KB  

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Please note: forwarded message attached
From: Pamela Roberts <robertsp@veterans.nv.gov>
To: Pamela Roberts <robertsp@veterans.nv.gov>
Subject: FW: Nevada Attorney General, Office of Military Legal Assistance
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2016 07:10:21 -0800

FYI and to share….

From: Gray, Virginia D. [mailto:Virginia.Gray@va.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2016 3:53 PM
ToSubject: Nevada Attorney General, Office of Military Legal Assistance

FYI for your constituents:

The State of Nevada is providing Free Legal Assistance for Veterans, Friday, January 27, 2017 from 10am to 2pm, in the VA Medical Center Auditorium and again on Saturday, January 28, 2017 in the American Legion Post 40, 425 E. Wagenen Street, Henderson, NV, from 10am to 2pm. 

Please promote to your chapters and posts; free services provided are:

Family Law Bankruptcy

Landlord/Tenant/Public Benefits

Consumer Law/Protection

Veteran’s Benefits

Wills

Power of Attorney

For more information, please call 775-684-1100.

Thank you,

Virginia D. Gray

Congressional & DoD Liaison

VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System

6900 North Pecos Road 3H314

North Las Vegas, NV 89086

(702) 791-9006 Ext 19006

(702) 791-9116 Fax

Virginia.Gray@va.gov

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Secretary Carter Opens Vietnam War Commemoration Pentagon Corridor Honoring Vietnam Veterans and Their Families

Press Operations
Release No: NR-452-16
Dec. 20, 2016
  E-MAIL
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, along with former Defense Secretary and Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel, provided remarks before cutting the ribbon and officially opening a corridor in the Pentagon honoring Vietnam veterans and their families.
The secretaries joined 15 Vietnam veterans Tuesday afternoon to mark the official opening of the museum-quality exhibit.  The permanent exhibit, located on the 3rd floor of the Pentagon between corridors 2 and 3, uniquely documents and illustrates the history of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a variety of media outlets of the time.  It exhibits historically accurate material and interactive experiences that will help today’s American public better understand and appreciate the service of our Vietnam veterans and their families, and the history of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
The commemoration took place at the center of the exhibit, an alcove that features two Huey helicopters.  Other highlights in the corridor include a binnacle from the SS Mayaguez, iconic memorabilia left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, statues and paintings, and chronological and thematic timelines of the Vietnam War.
“Today's unveiling and the government-wide commemoration that accompany it are an important part of commitment to honor veterans from Vietnam and their families, for service, for valor, for sacrifice,” said Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.
"This exhibit really and truly represents the service of a generation of citizens who were asked to do something for their country at a difficult time, as difficult a time as probably we've seen in our lifetimes,” said former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.  “This exhibit very much reflects all that and pays tribute to men and women who never asked for anything in return; they never came back to any expectations. They wanted to get on with their lives and put that war experience behind them.” 
The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration leads the nation’s effort to thank and honor the more than seven million living Vietnam veterans and the families of the nine million who served.  The commemoration was authorized by Congress, established under the secretary of defense, and launched in 2012 by President Barack Obama. The commemoration has partnered with more than 10,000 organizations to thank veterans and their families in their hometowns across the country.
Further information regarding The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration, including how organizations can become commemorative partners and how individual veterans can find events in their hometowns,  can be found at http://www.vietnamwar50th.com/
For information regarding arranging a tour of the Pentagon, please visit https://pentagontours.osd.mil/Tours/
5

Progressive Breakfast: Beyond Resistance: The Story of 2016

 

People's Action

Today, 7:26 AM

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16

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TODAY:

MORNING MESSAGE

Richard Eskow

Beyond Resistance: The Story of 2016

Democrats can’t "resist" Republicans unless they reset themselves as a movement-based party, with new ideas and new faces. That’s how Sanders mobilized a generation. It’s why he is, by some measures, the most popular politician in America. Resistance is important, but to “resist” is only negative. Bernie’s call for “political revolution” is affirmative, evoking a world we can bring into being.

HOUSE GROPES TOWARD HEALTH CARE STRATEGY

House Republicans say they will replace Obamacare with “universal access.” NYT:“‘Our goal here is to make sure that everybody can buy coverage or find coverage if they choose to,’ a House leadership aide told journalists … the date that [Obamacare] provisions would actually disappear would be delayed, allowing a transition period as short as two years or as long as three or four years … By giving people the choice to buy insurance, Republicans could end up dangerously skewing the health insurance market, Obama administration officials and insurance executives say. Sick people are more likely to sign up, they say, and there may not be enough healthy people paying premiums to cover the costs for those who are less healthy … The aide declined on Thursday to say if Republicans would seek an immediate halt to the cost-sharing subsidy payments.”

No GOP decision on when to scrap individual mandate. The Hill:“Congressional Republicans have not yet said whether they intend to scrap the mandate right away, but the bill they unsuccessfully pushed last year — and are now using as a blueprint for 2017 — abolished the mandate immediately … immediate repeal of the mandate could have severe repercussions … more healthy people are likely to go without health coverage, leaving mostly sick people enrolled in ObamaCare. If that happened, premiums could rise substantially.”

BORDER TAX PLAN COMPLICATES TAX REFORM

Proposed “border tax adjustment” riles importing retailers. Salon:“The proposal is part of the House Ways and Means Committee’s blueprint for the tax overhaul … Though technically not an import tariff, the so-called border tax adjustment prevents companies from writing off import costs on their taxable income, effectively raising their tax bills … To import-reliant businesses, the border tax adjustment is a poison pill, and bigger companies are preparing for war to ensure President-elect Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress know just how much they hate this idea.”

WSJ offers reasons why tax reform may not clear Congress:“While House Republicans seem unified around their blueprint, senators have barely discussed it. They might balk at pieces of the House plan, namely the border adjustment and estimates showing the bulk of the benefits going to the top 1% of households … other issues will clog the calendar and drain post-election political capital, including a Supreme Court nominee, Cabinet appointments, appropriations and the federal debt limit … The taxpayers and industries that benefit today won’t give up their advantages so easily, and the losers in any plan will be loud.”

TRUMP CONFLICTS CONTINUE

Eric Trump Foundation sells access to Ivanka. NYT:“Ozan M. Ozkural, a London-based investment manager, found a creative way to gain one-on-one access to the new first family: He bid nearly $60,000 to have a cup of coffee with Ivanka Trump for a charity event she was hosting. Mr. Ozkural [wants] to gain insight into topics like President-elect Donald J. Trump’s possible future dealings with Turkey and other nations where Mr. Ozkural invests … The money was to go to a foundation led by Ms. Trump’s brother Eric … In a brief telephone interview about the auction, Eric Trump … said that he was trying to navigate the ‘new world’ he is in since his father’s win.”

Incoming National Security Advisor has “deep ties to defense contractors” reports Bloomberg:“Just last week, [Michael Flynn] was re-elected to a paid position on the board of a surveillance drone company with Department of Defense contracts … while taking part in the classified briefings for Trump last August, he revamped his consulting company — Flynn Intel Group, or FIG — by adding one senior executive whose firm does extensive cybersecurity work for government agencies and another who was soliciting defense department aviation contracts.”

BREAKFAST SIDES

Tom Perez formally joins DNC race. The Hill:“…Perez said on a conference call with state Democratic chairmen[,] ‘I believe that at no point in my life has the Democratic chair been this important. We need strong progressive leadership that can deliver results. I’m a proud progressive and have been getting stuff done my entire career.’ Perez promised to return to the DNC’s ’50 state strategy,’ … on Wednesday night, [Rep. Keith Ellison] swiped at Perez for supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.”

North Carolina Republicans aim to strip incoming Democratic governor of power. The Atlantic:“About 20 demonstrators as well as one journalist were arrested amid demonstrations against what liberal groups are describing as a ‘legislative coup.’ … ‘If I believe that laws passed by the legislature hurt working families and are unconstitutional, they will see me in court,’ said [Gov.-elect Roy] Cooper … The state house passed a bill that will reduce the number of jobs appointed to the governor from 1,500 to 300, make Cabinet picks subject to state senate approval, and withdraw the governor’s ability to make appointments to University of North Carolina system boards of trustees and the state school board. (In effect, that will convert many of the political appointments made by outgoing Governor Pat McCrory, a Republican, into permanent jobs.)”

States and cities prepare to tackle climate without Trump. NYT;“In last month’s election, Seattle, Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio, voted to expand mass transit. Portland, Ore. … began a new municipal waste program a few years ago, resulting in higher recycling and composting rates … Miami Beach is raising roadbeds and building flood walls … [CA Gov. Jerry Brown] scoffed at reports that some Trump transition officials wanted to eliminate the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s system of earth-observing satellites. ‘If Trump turns off the satellites,’ he said, ‘California will launch its own damn satellite.'”

Obama holds press conference at 2:15 PM ET todayreports Reuters.

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Re: VVA: Four staff members have resigned from a southeastern Oklahoma VA facility after a veteran was found to have maggots in his

 

Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs executive director Myles Deering said the maggots were discovered while the patient was still alive at the Talihina facility, although he said the maggots did not cause his death, the Associated Press reported.

Deering said the veteran came to the facility with an infection and died of sepsis, the Tulsa World reported.

The VA said a physician’s assistant and three nurses, including the director of nursing, all resigned after an investigation was conducted.

Spokesman Shane Faulkner said all four decided to resign before anyone could be terminated.

Since the government will do nothing.

I suggest we crowd fund a civil lawsuit against this four VA thugs.

Let take their homes, cars and saving.

Your thougths

John Schmidt

Before we go ballistics, sepsis is a serious problem that affects a person's ability to deal with reality and has no relation to maggots unless the person who has the wounds so infected has been in a state wherein they could not or would not seek medical help. There is a lot more to this issue than this article states and has much broader implications than medical care. for example homelessness and the reasons for same, mental illness and the reason for same, and on and on. The article implies that the maggots that were found in this man's wounds, incurred after he was hospitalized, which is ludicrous. While it is possible for such an event to occur, the inception of that condition would have to have been prior to hospitalization, not during hospitalization. For those of you who don't know, maggots come from fly eggs and for maggots to grow a hospital room and a person's wounds,  would have to be overcome with flies for a period of several days, and to suggest that any hospital, even VA hospitals, to allow that to happen is ludicrous. Let us not jump to  conclusions from the rantings of someone who wants to disparage VA care, but let us instead address the etiological conditions that lead up to this situation, which has nothing to do with the medical care that was given to this veteran after his hospitalization, but rather the lack of medical care prior to his hospitalization.

Ed Ryan, Ph.D.

REMINDER: CALL IN DAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

REMINDER: CALL IN DAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

This is in regards to our Agent Orange Bills HR 1769 and S.901.

Everyone's help is needed on calling in for this Bill to be approved!!!

Thanks,

Neil

On Tuesday, November 29, 2016 8:34 PM, Dick Southern <southern@lodelink.com> wrote:

Call your Senators on November 30th, supporting passage of S.2921, the Veterans First Act
We Need a Senate Floor Vote NOW

WE NEED YOUR VOICES TO BE HEARD IN THE HALLS OF CONGRESS
Supporting passage of the S.2921, Veterans First Act NOW !
The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee has done its job, and NOW it is time for Senate leadership to hold a floor vote on S. 2921, the Veterans First Act.
At 9:00 a.m. on November 30th, please call (202) 224 3121 give the operator your state or zip code, and he/she will connect you with your elected officials' office.
Ask to speak to the LA for Veterans Affairs.
Hello, my name is (identify yourself) and I am a constituent in your state. I am calling today to urge you to contact Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada asking that S.2921, the Veterans First Act, be moved to the floor of the Senate for vote and passage.
This important legislation would establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs a national center for the research on diagnosis and treatment of the health conditions of the descendants of veterans exposed to toxic substances during service in the Armed Forces (S.901) and provides Caregivers benefits to Vietnam Veterans in your state.
Thank you for your attention to my request.
(Leave your name, home address and phone number so the office can follow up with you later).
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the only national Vietnam veterans’ organization congressionally chartered and exclusively dedicated to Vietnam-era veterans and their families. WWW.VVA.org

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Don't forget this birthday party , next Monday,

 

You all have several contacts so please advise all veteran groups.

Thanks 

Dick moyer

On Friday, August 26, 2016 4:06 PM, Richard Moyer <dickmoyer702@yahoo.com> wrote:

We have been invited to this birthday party by his daughter Nancy. Vince was the WW11 veteran and a POW that was written about in the RJ for Memorial Day. His daughter has invited all veterans to this party , because Vince will be 100 on Sept 19, 2016. So spread the word to all veterans. I will be there for sure since my dad was liberated from the same POW camp on April 30, 1945. The media will also be there for this event. So lets rally the troops. The time is 3pm to 6pm on Monday September 19. Location is

Echelon Senior Center

4330 S. Eastern Ave

Las Vegas , NV

Dick Moyer

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. NR-317-16 Sept. 11, 2016

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DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.

1st Lt. Jeffrey D. Cooper, 25, of Mill Creek, Washington, died Sept. 10 in Kuwait, from a non-combat-related injury. The incident is under investigation.

Cooper was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2^nd Brigade Combat Team, Fort Campbell, KY. 

For more information regarding 1st Lt. Cooper, media may contact the Fort Campbell Public Affairs office at 270-798-9963.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
On the Web: http://www.defense.gov/releases/
Media Contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132
Public Contact: http://www.defense.gov/landing/questions.aspx or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1

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