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VAA Top Articles of 2016
As 2016 comes to a close, the
Veterans Association of America, would like to wish its members, partners and other industry professionals a safe and happy holiday season. As we reflect on the past year for the industry, we would like to provide the readers of VAA Dispatch a look at the most accessed articles from the year. Our regular publication will resume Tuesday, Jan. 10.
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WFED-AM
From Aug. 16: Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald has described 2016 as a "make or break year" for the department.
But the outcome largely depends on whether Congress can pass major legislation to change the disability appeals process, access to VA health care and accountability procedures for senior executives at the department.
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Military Times
From July 19: Veterans benefits will match the Social Security cost-of-living increase in 2017, thanks to a measure finalized by Congress.
But veterans groups hoping for a more permanent answer to the annual legislative hand-wringing over their benefits boost will have to wait longer for that solution.
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Stars and Stripes (tiered subscription model)
From Jan. 21: A renewed push to overhaul the military's Tricare health insurance system is underway in Congress, but it remains a daunting task for lawmakers. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, criticized President Barack Obama's administration this week for trying to fix Tricare with "year after year" of fee increases. "Simply taking more money out of [service members'] pockets is not reform."
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Four month average turn around with the VA’s Pension with Aid and Attendance
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Military Times
From Aug. 23: Plans are progressing to extend online military exchange shopping privileges to all honorably discharged veterans, Military Times has learned.
The Defense Department's Executive Resale Board voted unanimously Aug. 9 to recommend the policy change, sources said. Extended shopping privileges would apply only to the exchange system's online stores — not brick-and-mortar facilities located on military installations.
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Military.com
From June 7: A commission studying health care is just one vote shy of endorsing a privatized Department of Veterans Affairs, a gathering of veterans and VA employees in Tomah, Wisconsin, was told recently. The American Federation of Government Employees local that represents workers at the Tomah VA medical center organized the town hall meeting to warn that the "national VA system is under attack."
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Military Times (tiered subscription model)
From July 5: Multiple members of the Senate Veteran’s Affairs Committee spent nearly an hour in the late afternoon arguing the full chamber needs to quickly vote on the pending Veterans First Act, a massive veterans omnibus authored by committee chairman Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. The measure contains a host of new accountability rules and a dramatic expansion of caregiver support programs.
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Military Times
From Feb. 16: Hundreds of thousands of service members face a critical decision during the next year that could have a huge impact on their future financial security: Whether to opt into the new military retirement system or stick with the traditional one.
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Military Times
From Feb. 16: The Obama administration's $4.1 trillion budget request for 2017 outlines spending plans for all military and veterans programs. Unveiled recently, it encompasses the president's proposed pay raise for service members, and new plans for the military retirement and health care systems. It lays out force-size reductions for the active-duty force, major acquisition and development efforts, plus planned deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and in response to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.
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Military Times (tiered subscription model)
From April 5: A blue-ribbon panel created to evaluate the Veterans Affairs health system is weighing a radical proposal to eliminate all VA medical centers and outpatient facilities in the next 20 years and transition 9 million veterans to the private sector for health care. A 34-page "strawman document" floated by seven of 15 members of the VA Commission on Care calls for giving all veterans immediate access to private health services and closing VA health facilities gradually, starting with those that are obsolete or underutilized in a process similar to a base realignment and closure.
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Military Times (tiered subscription model)
From July 12: A controversial veterans advocacy group is gaining clout in Congress but appears to be losing credibility with fellow veterans lobbyists.
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The Guardian
From Jan. 26: Almost half of the service personnel assessed by military psychiatrists had mental health issues that were not clearly linked to their career in the armed forces, or were "Walter Mitty" characters who fabricated their experience, according to a leading expert. Ian Palmer, a former senior military psychiatrist who ran the government's medical assessment program, a veteran's mental health service, found that in 42 percent of cases there was no definite link to military service and at least 10 percent appeared to be making up or significantly exaggerating their service history.
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Military Times
From Jan. 5: By the end of 2016, the military health system may look completely different than it does now. Or it may resemble the current structure with tweaks hardly noticeable to military patients. What is certain is that change is coming to military medicine and Tricare: Congress has promised a complete review of the $48 billion system and reform in the coming year, aiming to improve patient care and streamline the bureaucratic structure.
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