Forward Observer
Forward Observer: Blue Water Navy Bill Is About Sunk for This Year
To add to the sorry saga of inaction by our senators, here is the latest as reported in the Stars and Stripes: ### As of 14 December 2018
LVMAC NEWS
LVMAC Tidbit: New VA Schedule for Rating Hemic and Lymphatic Systems Meant to Ensure Consistent Decisons
Today the the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it had updated portions, of the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD or Rating Schedule), effective December 9, 2018, which evaluate the hematologic and lymphatic systems.
One diagnostic code was removed, nine were added, and several were restructured. The complete list of updates to the rating schedule are now available online. (more…)
Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit: Wilkes-Barre VA Town Hall Comes to Allentown
The Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center will hold a Town Hall at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 12, at the Allentown VA Outpatient Clinic, 3110 Hamilton Boulevard, Allentown. Its purpose is to give an opportunity to veterans to meet with top officials and ask questions which concern them and others. Source: Read more…
Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit: VA Approaches Flu Season in a New Way
Did you know the Department of Veterans Affairs and Walgreens are national partners and both are providing no-cost, flu vaccines to enrolled veterans of the VA healthcare system? It is part of the VA’s effort to improve and simplify its community care program — and the technology of the era Read more…
Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit: VA Updates Rating Schedule for Skin Conditions
“No conditions were removed from the new rating schedule for skin conditions. However, several diagnostic codes assigned to various skin conditions were restructured or revised as VA aims to have the rating schedule better reflect modern medicine,” according to the VA. The new rating schedule for skin conditions goes into effect August 13. (more…)
Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit: Getting It Wrong on VA Healthcare — How Our Media Fails Us
[Editor’s Note: One of the more thorough, balanced and probative articles about the failure of the our national and local media regarding their reporting and conclusions on the state of VA healthcare in quite a while. Also provides some insights on the thinking of our Congress and Executive; and the Read more…
Forward Observer
Forward Observer: Blue Water Navy Act Edges One Step Closer
H.R. 299, The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017 [2018], introduced by Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) edged one step closer to passage on 25 June with a 382-0 House vote. If enacted, the Act would restore eligibility for VA healthcare and disability compensation for (more…)
Forward Observer
Forward Observer: The VA Mission Act Is Enacted
We thought it would happen on Memorial Day. Instead, it happened on 6 June 2018 (D-Day). The President finally signed the VA MISSION Act of 2018 upon which we have previously reported .
According to the VFW’s Action Corps Weekly of 8 June, “ ‘The VA MISSION Act will help improve the care our veterans get at the VA while leveraging the capabilities of the private sector when needed. It will help recruit the best talent at the VA, which is what our veterans deserve, and it also extends caregiver benefits to every veteran who needs it,’ … The VA MISSION Act was the result of a bipartisan and bicameral effort led by Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Sen. Johnny Isakson, Ranking Member Sen. Jon Tester and House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Rep. Phil Roe, M.D.” (more…)
Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit: VA Suicide Prevention Training Is Now Online
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affair’s (VA’s) S.A.V.E suicide prevention training is now available online from its collaborators at PsychArmor!
Training is available 24/7 to help you identify and support veterans at risk. (more…)
Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit: Best Kind of Memorial Day News — VA Mission Act About to Be Signed
Honoring Those Who Gave Their Lives With Actions For The Living and Not Words
The VFW reports in its Action Corps Weekly of 25 May , as the other 27 veterans organizations which supported this action certainly will: