VA Targets Veteran Homelessness
VA Secretary Shinseki announced that the Veterans’ Administration will award approximately $100 million in grants, designed to assist over 40,000 homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families. 151 communities in 49 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico will benefit from these funds.
According to Shinseki,, “These grants will help VA and community organizations reach out and prevent at-risk Veterans from losing their homes.” The grants will be awarded to private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives that provide assistance to Veterans and their families who are living in or transitioning to permanent housing. The grants are being awarded under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, and will enable homeless providers to offer Veterans and their families services such as outreach, case management, assistance in obtaining VA benefits and other public benefits. Community-based organizations will be able to offer temporary financial assistance to Veterans to rent, utility, security deposits, and moving costs. This is the second year of this program, and in 2009 President Obama and Secretary Shinseki announced the federal government’s goal was to end Veteran homelessness by 2015. So far, according to the 20122 annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress, Veteran homelessness has decreased 12 percent since January 2010.
In fiscal year 2011, the VA committed $800 million to support programs to end Veteran homelessness.
More VA News . . .
Beginning towards the end of 2012, the VA will be adding 13 more community-based out-patient clinics (CBOC’s) to serve Veterans in nine different states. Currently, the Veterans’ Administration runs 152 medical centers and over 812 community-based outpatient clinics throughout the country. Fiscal year 2012 will reflect 6.1 million patients and 80 million outpatients will have used these facilities.
Says VA Secretary Shinseki, “Community-based clinics are key to providing Veterans better access to high-quality care closer to home. By reducing the distance Veterans have to travel, we hope more Veterans will benefit from the health care services they have earned through their service to our nation.”
With Direction From President Obama, Federal Firefighters Have Access To Health Care
OPM came out with an interim final regulation extending eligibility for health insurance under the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program to temporary firefighters and fire protection personnel putting out wildland fires across the U.S. This came as a result of direction from President Obama.
“Issuing this interim final regulation meets President Obama’s direction to ensure that the brave men and women who compose our nation’s federal firefighter ranks, and who are currently fighting dangerous wildfires in states across the country, are eligible for the same health insurance available to other federal employees, retirees and their families,” said OPM Director, John Berry. OPM, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior worked together to provide much-needed health coverage to federal firefighters and their families. Many of these fire fighters are temporary employees because their work is seasonal, and therefore they were not previously eligible for coverage under FEHB.
“Ever since I served as mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, I’ve had a deep respect for our firefighters and I know that when a federal firefighter is heading out to the line to defend Americans’ lives and property from dangerous, destructive wildfire, it doesn’t matter whether they’re a “temporary” firefighter or not. Today’s announcement means that every one of our federal firefighters will have the health coverage he or she deserves – and that’s something we can be proud of,” said Tom Vilsack, secretary of agriculture.
NYS Attorney General Announces AXA Equitable To Pay Consumers For Unlawful Changes In Insurance Policies
After an investigation that revealed AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company had made an undisclosed change to its medical claim reimbursement policy (which resulted in lower reimbursements for policy holders), NYS Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman reached an agreement with the company. They now are compelled to change their medical claim reimbursement policy to honor the terms of its policy holders’ health insurance plans.
Under the settlement, AXA Equitable will pay restitutions (which could be as high as $850,000) to its New York members, as well as members out of state who may have been affected.
Says Attorney General Schneiderman, “These consumers paid their bills and played by the rules, only to discover their insurance policies had changed with no warning by AXA Equitable. At the very least – consumers should expect that the terms of their health plans are honored. It is unacceptable for AXA Equitable to switch its claim reimbursement policy to one that pays less, without alerting plan members.”