Category: Veterans

VA Secretary Wants to Use Funds for Budget Shortfall

• Joseph Belluck
• Veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs is facing a $2.6 billion financial shortfall that it says is caused by increased veteran demand for healthcare. Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson plans to ask Congress for permission to use money from the Veterans Choice program to cover the funding gap, a measure that could hurt veterans with mesothelioma who seek treatment at a non-VA care facility.

The Veterans Choice program is the centerpiece of a $16.3 billion VA reform law approved by Congress last year in response to a VA scandal over long patient wait times and falsified records. Of the $16.3 billion, $10 billion was put into a fund that allows veterans who are unable to secure an appointment at a VA medical facility within 30 days or who live more than 40 miles from the nearest VA facility to seek care at a private hospital.

More recently Congress amended the legislation to define the 40-mile rule as actual driving distance, not “as the crow flies” distance. And the House is currently considering another amendment to the Choice program that would allow veterans living within 40 miles of a VA facility to seek care at a private facility if their local VA hospital does not offer the specific services they require, such as mental health or cancer treatment services. This would be very beneficial to veterans with mesothelioma who are only able to receive the specialized care they need at a handful of VA mesothelioma centers as well as those unable to get an appointment with a VA oncologist within 30 days.

Secretary Gibson, according to The Columbus Dispatch, says that the program got off to a rocky start, but has expanded significantly in recent months and is likely to expand even more. The ability of the program to meet the health needs of veterans with private care, however, whether they live in rural areas or simply cannot secure a timely appointment, would be hampered by the appropriation of $2.6 billion to other VA health care costs.

That’s more than one-quarter of the entire budget of the Choice program, which runs through August 2017 or until the $10 billion is used up. Using up $2.6 billion of that budget to adjust for what some are calling yet another example of VA mismanagement doesn’t add up for veterans helped by the Choice program.

While Gibson attributes the budget shortfall to increased demand at VA medical facilities—which he says has increased by 7 million appointments in the past year—others have been more critical of the VA.

“The VA’s problem isn’t funding—it’s outright failure,” said House Speaker John Boehner at a news conference. “Absolute failure to take care of our veterans.”

Wait times longer than 30 days for VA appointments have gone up by 50 percent in the last year, a clear sign that, whether due to bureaucratic missteps or more veterans seeking care, the Choice program is needed now more than ever.

Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, says that he is prepared to give the VA Choice program funds to pay for daily health care expenses, according to Stars and Stripes, but in return will demand changes to the way the VA manages its finances.

Veterans who need help paying for mesothelioma medical services at a non-VA facility are encouraged to contact Belluck Law, LLP for a free case review. A lawsuit against the companies responsible for your asbestos exposure could provide funds for medical care, lost wages and other expenses related to your illness.

Veterans may also be available for monthly compensation from the VA. Use our VA Benefit Tool to find out whether you qualify.

Sources:

• The Columbus Dispatch
  https://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2015/06/25/0625-va-budget-shortfall.html
• Stars and Stripes
  https://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/house-panel-supports-closing-va-s-2-6-billion-funding-gap-1.354590

Mesothelioma Nurse Honors American Veterans

• Lisa Hyde-Barrett
• Mesothelioma, Nurse's Corner, Veterans

November 11 is the day that Americans set aside for honoring our veterans. Today, less than one percent of the people in the United States serve in the military. Mesothelioma makes up less than one percent of all cancers, yet, approximately 33% of all U.S. mesothelioma victims are veterans. Using the often cited number of between 2,500 and 3,000 newly diagnosed mesothelioma cases per year, it would follow that between 750 and 1,000 of those patients are veterans who served our country.

Veterans, like mesothelioma victims, come from all socio-economic backgrounds, faiths, and walks of life. Over the years, it has always been an honor for me to care for our veterans and families that develop mesothelioma. After sacrificing for our country, decades before, they are then afflicted with mesothelioma.

In recent years, improvements have been made in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs system for caring for mesothelioma veterans whose diagnosis is service related. Claims are now fast-tracked, and the VA acknowledges that the condition is service-connected. Reach out and educate a veteran who is also diagnosed with mesothelioma about the possibility of benefits.

Don’t let today go by without remembering a veteran.  This year, more so than in years past, there seems to be more public attention to honoring our veterans. Whether it is displaying a green light, or giving veterans free oil changes, it is a day to honor, and thank those few among us who continue to keep us safe by serving our country.

We would like to thank all our veterans, those currently serving in our military, and those attending our service academies. To choose to serve our country, when so many other avenues are open for young adults, is a source of inspiration for all of us.

If you have questions about your mesothelioma treatment or any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].

Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.

Asbestos At Former Naval Base Highlights Health Risk to Navy Vets, Demolition Workers

• Joseph Belluck
• Asbestos Exposure, Veterans

Demolition work at the former Charleston Naval Base was halted after work safety inspectors found asbestos wrap on steam pipes at the site. Exposure to asbestos causes serious respiratory disease including mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lining of the lungs and abdomen.

Asbestos, a mineral fiber, was widely used in building materials and insulation such as pipe wrap in the decades after World War II. It was used in navy ships, military bases and shipyards such as the Charleston Naval Base, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York Shipyard and Todd Shipyard. Much asbestos remains in older buildings and houses, posing a health hazard to demolition workers and construction workers during remodeling and demolition projects if the asbestos isn’t handled properly. People who worked in shipyards and served on Navy ships are at elevated risk of developing mesothelioma as a consequence of inhaling asbestos fibers decades ago.

According to The Courier and Post newspaper, South Carolina Health and Environmental Control officials last week visited the work site, a fenced-in yard near the former Charleston Naval Base power plant and found what appeared to be asbestos. They shut down the demolition operation.

The Noisette Company, which currently owns the site, had hired AAA Metal Company to remove obsolete pipes. The company will now need to hire a licensed asbestos abatement contractor to remove asbestos materials and clean up the site.

Since the 1940s, millions of American workers have been exposed to asbestos, according to the National Cancer Institute. The people most likely to be diagnosed with mesothelioma are older workers, retired workers or veterans who were exposed to asbestos fibers in the workplace or military service. Mesothelioma typically takes 20 years to 40 years before sufferers notice symptoms such as pain beneath the ribs and difficulty breathing. The cancer often has reached an advanced stage before doctors diagnose it correctly.

Researchers continue to seek more effective treatments for mesothelioma and more accurate diagnostic tools to determine which patients will respond to which treatments,including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

Memorial Day is Time to Honor America’s Veterans

• Joseph Belluck
• Veterans

The long Memorial Day weekend is one of the most popular holiday weekends in the United States. Celebrating the start of summer, many families head to the beach or to the shopping malls for special bargains. However, it is important that Americans not forget the meaning of Memorial Day and take the time to honor our fallen soldiers, whether it was on the battlefield or long after from injuries or illnesses, such as mesothelioma, suffered from their service.

MemorialDay.org reminds U.S. citizens: “On Memorial Day we need to stop and pay with sincere conviction our respects for those who died protecting and preserving the freedoms we enjoy, for we owe those honored dead more than we can ever repay.”

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer, affecting the lining of the lungs, caused by exposure to asbestos. Although nearly 3,000 new cases are reported annually in the U.S., statistics show that military veterans account for over one-third of those cases. Unfortunately, mesothelioma is extremely difficult to treat and is virtually impossible to cure.

Between the 1940s and 1970s asbestos was popular with the military. During that time asbestos was used for insulation in both military buildings, including mess halls and barracks, and ships. It was also used as an insulator around hot water heaters and cooling systems, and in the gaskets placed inside airplane engines and large machinery.

The New York mesothelioma law firm of Belluck Law, LLP has seen the devastation a diagnosis of mesothelioma can cause to veterans and their families, and they are committed to helping these families get compensation for their disease. In August 2011, Belluck Law, LLP represented a Navy veteran diagnosed with mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos aboard ships. The firm won the man a $32 million verdict, which ranked among the five largest New York verdicts of 2011.

Mesothelioma has a long incubation period, so now, veteran’s over the age of 60 are beginning to show symptoms.  Contracting mesothelioma is a life-time risk for some of our veterans, and Memorial Day is just one day when Americans can take the time to thank veterans for all they endured for our freedom.

Following is an excerpt from President Barack Obama’s 2012 Memorial Day address:

“No words can ever bring back a loved one who has been lost. No ceremony can do justice to their memory. No honor will ever fill their absence.

But on Memorial Day, we come together as Americans to let these families and veterans know that they are not alone. We give thanks for those who sacrificed everything so that we could be free. And we commit ourselves to upholding the ideals for which so many patriots have fought and died.”

Thank you to all who have bravely served our country!