Tommy Tuberville works to increase servicemembers’ life insurance coverage
Sen. Tommy Tuberville joined Senators Kevin Cramer and Rick Scott to introduce the Supporting Families of the Fallen Act. This legislation aims to increase the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) and Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) coverage from $400,000 to $500,000. SGLI and VGLI coverage amounts have remained the same since 2005. Tuberville, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, stated, “Our military families support our warfighters in the dangers of battle and through the most difficult times. We hope they never receive that horrible call, but when one of our service members pays the ultimate sacrifice, their family should be taken care of. This legislation is one way to ease their financial worries and hopefully alleviate the peripheral stress that comes with mourning the loss of a loved one.” This legislation is one way to ease their financial worries and hopefully alleviate the peripheral stress that comes with mourning the loss of a loved one pic.twitter.com/J2Kmo7tGcJ — Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) September 22, 2021 North Dakota Senator Cramer commented, “While inflation is on the rise in the United States, the maximum amount we allow for beneficiaries of certain VA life insurance policies has remained stagnant for over 15 years. Our bill would authorize a significant raise in that maximum amount so veterans can better provide their families with stability and peace of mind for the future.” “As a Navy veteran and the son of a World War II veteran, I know firsthand the sacrifices our men and women in uniform and their families make to defend our freedom. The Supporting Families of the Fallen Act provides families of fallen service members and veterans with the resources they deserve after the tragic loss of a loved one. I urge my colleagues to support this good bill,” Florida Senator Scott said.
Doug Jones introduces legislation force VA to pay student veterans missing benefits
Alabama U.S. Sen. Doug Jones taking action in hopes of righting yet another wrong made by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). On Tuesday, he joined his colleague Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) in introducing legislation that would force the VA to pay an estimated 360,000 veterans benefits that were overlooked due to technical errors. Money, Jones says the veterans are entitled to, but did not receive because of the VA’s own error. When the VA failed to implement the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, many student veterans did not receive the full benefits they are entitled to. The bipartisan Fix Immediately Outstanding Underpayments for Student Veterans Act would establish a VA commission at the VA to audit monthly stipends to student veterans and force the VA to pay back students who have been underpaid.Additionally this legislation will ensure the VA does not take back money from students they overpaid through their error. “When young men and women step up to serve our country in uniform, we make a solemn promise to have their backs when they come home,” said Jones. “We commit to provide them the tools needed to re-enter civilian life and to earn an education that will enable them to serve our communities in new ways. When I heard that thousands of veterans in Alabama and across the country were being underpaid – or not paid at all – for their GI Bill benefits and that the VA might not make them whole, I was appalled. While I’m glad the VA has since begun to reverse course, action from Congress is needed to make sure that these veterans receive what they’re owed.” Gardner believes VA is failing students by not providing a plan to pay them back the missing money quickly. “The VA let these veterans down and this cannot be tolerated,” added Gardner. “First, the VA made a mistake and did not properly pay student veterans the money they are entitled to; and now the VA is failing in their responsibility again by not providing a plan to pay those students back quickly. Most problems Congress addresses are complicated and do not have one ‘right’ answer. This is not one of those issues. To me, it’s pretty clear what the right thing to do is: Congress must act to ensure our student veterans receive every penny they are entitled to.” Last Friday, Jones sent a letter to the senior VA leader overseeing GI Bill benefits seeking answers from the VA about the situation. Jones also joined his colleagues last week in a bipartisan letter, led by Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and John Boozman (R-Ark.), calling on the VA Inspector General to launch an investigation into allegations that the VA would not be reimbursing veterans for any missed or underpaid benefits. Read Jones’ letter below:
VA data: Suicide rate for Alabama veterans up, especially for young veterans
Last month, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials released national and state-level findings from its most recent analysis of Veteran suicide data, which showed an average of two and half Alabama veterans died by suicide each week from 2015-2016. The research also revealed Alabama veterans are dying by suicide at a higher rate than the national average. The VA’s figures, which are the most recent year available, reveal 34.2 Alabama veterans per 100,000 died by suicide in 2016, whereas the national veteran suicide rate was only 30.1 per 100,000. Among their findings, 18-24 years old Alabamians committed suicide more often than any other age bracket at 52.8 per 100,000. Meanwhile only 45 per 100,000 non-veterans in the same age bracket committed suicided. In the 2016, veterans account for roughly 17 percent of all Alabama suicides. Among those suicides, an overwhelming 81.3 percent of veterans used firearms, whereas the national average for firearm use in suicide was only 51.4 percent. The analysis is part of VA’s ongoing examination of non-Veteran and Veteran death records that is being used to evaluate and improve VA’s Suicide Prevention Program. “Suicide prevention remains VA’s highest clinical priority. One life lost to suicide is one too many,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. The report also found: There were more than 6,000 Veteran suicides each year from 2008 to 2016. In 2016, the suicide rate was 1.5 times greater for Veterans than for non-Veteran adults, after adjusting for age and gender. The suicide rate for Veterans ages 18–34 increased substantially, from 40.4 suicide deaths per 100,000 population in 2015 to 45 suicide deaths per 100,000 population in 2016. After adjusting for age, in 2016, the suicide rate for women Veterans was 1.8 times greater than the suicide rate for non-Veteran women. If you are a veteran or are concerned about one, call the national Veterans Crisis Line 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Montgomery VA Medical Center earns 1-star facility rating, others improve
A new report from the Veterans Administration shows two Alabama VA medical centers have made some improvements in its quality of services over the past year, while another remains stagnant. As part of their efforts to remain transparent and hold VA facilities accountable, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) on Wednesday released end of fiscal year 2018 (FY2018) hospital Star ratings, which evaluate and benchmark quality of care delivery at VA medical centers (VAMCs) across the nation. In Alabama, on a 1 through 5 star scale, they rated: Birmingham: 4-star (score went up) Montgomery: 1-star (trivial change, did not improve) Tuscaloosa: 3-star (score went up) “With closer monitoring and increased medical center leadership and support we have seen solid improvements at most of our facilities,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Even our highest performing facilities are getting better, and that is driving up our quality standards across the country.” The Star rating designation is designed to help VA identify best practices of its top performing hospitals and share them across VA’s health care system to achieve system-wide improvements. “There’s no doubt that there’s still plenty of work to do, but I’m proud of our employees, who work tirelessly to move VA in the right direction for Veterans and taxpayers,” Wilkie added. Birmingham Birmingham remains a bright spot for veterans within the Alabama care system. Over the past three years it has steadily improved having received a 3-star rating in 2016, going up to a 4-star in 2017 and now pulling another 4-star with additional signs of improvement. “Providing high quality healthcare and benefits to our nations Veterans is one of our most fundamental obligations,” said Rep. Terri Sewell. “I’m proud of the tireless work that VA professionals are doing in Birmingham to save lives and improve healthcare quality standards for our Veterans and service members. Here in Congress, I have supported VA reforms like the Veterans’ Access, Choice and Accountability Act, a bill which allowed Veterans to receive care from private doctors when there’s a backlog and which increases accountability and transparency within the VA. I also introduced and helped pass a VA hiring amendment that encouraged the VA Secretary to select eligible employees for its fellowship program who represent rural areas. I’ve visited the Birmingham VA and met with the staff there, which is why I am not surprised to learn that they have maintained their 4-star rating. Our fight to provide Veterans across Alabama with timely and responsive access to quality care is far from over, and I applaud the Birmingham VA medical center on the strides it has made.” Montgomery In 2015, the director of the Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHCS), or Montgomery VA, was removed from his post when a pattern of gross mismanagement and systemic malfeasance was exposed. Weeks later he became the first VA official in the country fired under our new VA accountability law. Since that time the Montgomery VA has been under a federal microscope and was making many improvements. However, after improving from 2015 to 2017 and receiving a 3-star rating for two years in a row, the state’s capital city VA hospital dropped to a 1-star, out of 5, in 2018. Someone who has been working hard to hold the Montgomery VA accountable and improve their service is Alabama 2nd District Rep. Martha Roby. She calls the newly released rating “unacceptable.” “The news that the Central Alabama VA has dropped from a 3-star rating to a 1-star rating is completely unacceptable,” Roby told Alabama Today. “Our veterans represent the very best of this country, and it is incumbent upon us to ensure they receive the best possible care we can provide. Significant work is needed to achieve this goal. She continued, “I have been and will remain actively engaged with CAVHCS Director Dr. Linda Boyle and other VA leadership to improve care for our veterans so that it is easily accessible and of the highest quality. As always, I encourage veterans in Alabama’s Second District to contact my office with problems related to VA casework. I am deeply disappointed in this rating, and my top priority continues to be that we treat our veterans properly.” Rating methodology The VA uses a comprehensive performance improvement tool called Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL) that includes key metrics used by the private sector as well as additional metrics that are important for addressing access to care, quality of mental health care, employee perception about the organization, nursing turnover, efficiency and capacity. The metrics are organized into 9 Quality domains and one Efficiency and Capacity domain. The Quality domains are combined to represent overall Quality. Each VA medical center is assessed for overall Quality from two perspectives: Relative Performance compared to other VA medical centers using a Star rating system from 1 to 5. Improvement compared to its own performance from the past year. Both relative performance and size of improvement are used to guide improve efforts.
New Mobile, Ala. Veterans Affairs clinic finally on way
Soon veterans living in Mobile won’t have to travel far to receive care. A new clinic has been approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to replace the current, outdated clinic on Springhill Avenue. Thanks in part go to Alabama 1st District U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, who’s made getting a new VA clinic one of his top priorities in Congress. Byrne made the announcement of the new clinic in a press release Thursday afternoon. “This announcement is music to the ears of the over 50,000 veterans who live in Southwest Alabama,” said Byrne. “Since being elected to Congress, I have repeatedly called on the VA to move forward with this project. It is a shame the process took as long as it did, but the new facility will be able to better serve those who have given so much to our country.” Byrne continued, “The work is not done. I will continue to provide diligent oversight throughout the construction process to ensure the project remains on schedule. We must also continue pushing for reforms at the VA to ensure accountability and promote greater choices for our veterans.” Last April, Byrne sent a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald, urging the VA to expedite construction of a new VA clinic in Mobile. More information on the new clinic is not yet available.
