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Veterans and Military Health and News Page
There has been so much information and news lately regarding health issues that this page is created. Please check here and our blog for information.
Get registered with the VA and get in their system. If you were in Vietnam, Korean DMZ, Laos, Cambodia or Thailand, get a free Agent Orange exam and get on the Agent Orange register.
Information provided courtesy of Medical News Today
Helping Dogs (and Humans) With Spinal Cord Injury Walk Again |
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| Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:00 PST |
| On Wednesday, US researchers announced they are testing a new drug in dogs that has already proven effective in mice. The drug is designed to substantially reduce the hind limb paralysis that follows certain spinal cord injuries. There are currently no therapies that can do this. The researchers suggest if the drug succeeds in dogs, it could also work in humans... |
How Team Training Reduces Surgical Complications Risk |
| Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:00:00 PST |
| A program enforced by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to enhance surgical outcomes and help structured interactive communication in surgical care results in fewer surgical complications, according to an article published in the December issue of the Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives ... |
Diet For Retired Military Personnel Reduces Medical Costs |
| Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:00:00 PST |
| According to a report published online in Preventive Medicine, a weight management intervention designed for military members who are inactive and retired, and their families, could improve their health in addition to lowering medical expenditures... |
Brain Activity Similar In Maltreated Children And Combat Soldiers |
| Tue, 06 Dec 2011 03:00:00 PST |
| Children exposed to family violence show the same pattern of activity in their brains as soldiers exposed to combat, new research has shown... |
Research Shows Rx With Hyperbaric Oxygen Improved TBI And PTSD In Vets |
| Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| Research led by Dr. Paul Harch, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has found that treatment with hyperbaric oxygen nearly three years after injury significantly improved function and quality of life for veterans with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. The findings are available online now in the Journal of Neurotrauma... |
During REM Sleep Stress Chemicals Shut Down And The Brain Processes Emotional Experiences |
| Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| They say time heals all wounds, and new research from the University of California, Berkeley, indicates that time spent in dream sleep can help. UC Berkeley researchers have found that during the dream phase of sleep, also known as REM sleep, our stress chemistry shuts down and the brain processes emotional experiences and takes the painful edge off difficult memories... |
Dream Sleep Eases Painful Memories |
| Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:00:00 PST |
| Researchers at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, have discovered that during REM or the dream phase sleep, our body's stress chemistry shuts down while the brain processes emotional experiences and eases the pain in difficult memories... |
Hope On The Horizon For Patients With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder |
| Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are teaming up for a research project aimed at advancing the treatment of military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). "PTSD and mild TBI are serious problems for our vets coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan," said Dwayne W... |
U.S. Cutbacks Could Hurt Boomers And Veterans Impacted By Alzheimer's |
| Fri, 11 Nov 2011 04:00:00 PST |
| The American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF), a nonprofit organization funding innovative research through its Alzheimer's Disease Research (ADR) program, has announced that the number of scientists seeking ADR research grants through its annual application process increased by 33% this year... |
Recent Veterans In College Engage In Riskier Health Behaviors |
| Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| College students who have served in the U.S. conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely than their non-veteran peers to use tobacco, drink in excess and engage in other behaviors that endanger their health and safety, according to a study that appeared in the latest issue of American Journal of Health Promotion... |
New Sleep Disorder Research Highlighted At CHEST 2011 |
| Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| Left-Handed People More Likely to Have Sleep Disorder (#1119044, Wednesday, October 26, 3:00 PM Eastern) The presence of rhythmic limb movements when sleeping, which may vary in intensity, may be an indicator of periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD)... |
Study Finds Care For Mentally Ill Veterans Is As Good Or Better Than In Other Health Systems |
| Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| Treating U.S. veterans with mental illness and substance use disorders is more expensive than caring for veterans with other medical conditions, costing more than $12 billion in 2007, according to a new RAND Corporation study... |
Headaches Take Toll On Soldiers |
| Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:00:00 PST |
| Headaches, a virtually universal human complaint at one time or another, are among the top reasons for medical evacuation of military personnel from Iraq and Afghanistan, and for ongoing depletion of active-duty ranks in those countries, according to research led by Johns Hopkins specialists... |
Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy May Be Beneficial For Treating Traumatic Brain Injury, But Further Research Needed |
| Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| There is some evidence about the potential value of cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT) for treating traumatic brain injury (TBI), but overall it is not sufficient to develop definitive guidelines on how to apply these therapies and to determine which type of CRT will work best for a particular patient, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine... |
Cortisone Injection Can Prevent PTSD In 60% Who Experience Traumatic Stress |
| Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:00:00 PST |
| As soldiers return home from tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, America must cope with the toll that war takes on mental health. But the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is becoming increasingly expensive, and promises to escalate as yet another generation of veterans tries to heal its psychological wounds... |
New Diagnosis Proposed For Iraq/Afghanistan War Veterans With Respiratory Symptoms |
| Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:00:00 PST |
| Soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan have a high rate of breathing-related symptoms leading to lung function testing, reports a paper in the September Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health... |
IED Research Aimed At Reducing Soldiers' Amputations, Leg Injuries |
| Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| A Mississippi State biomedical engineering researcher focused on decreasing amputations and other leg injuries to soldiers in IED-attacked vehicles will present her findings next week at a NATO conference in Canada. Lakiesha N. Williams, an assistant professor of biological engineering at the university, will address NATO's Research and Technology Organization during a Monday-Wednesday [Oct... |
Marijuana Administration Could Prevent Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms |
| Thu, 22 Sep 2011 02:00:00 PST |
| Cannabinoids (marijuana) administration after experiencing a traumatic event blocks the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms in rats, according to a new study conducted at the University of Haifa and published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology... |
Study Reveals Causes Of Gulf War Illness Are Complex And Vary By Deployment Area |
| Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| Gulf War Illness (GWI) - the chronic health condition that affects about one in four military veterans of the 1991 Gulf War - appears to be the result of several factors, which differed in importance depending upon the locations where veterans served during the war, according to a Baylor University study... |
Chronic Abnormal Brain Blood Flow Found In Gulf War Veterans |
| Wed, 14 Sep 2011 02:00:00 PST |
| Blood flow abnormalities found in the brains of veterans with Gulf War illness have persisted 20 years after the war, and in some cases have gotten worse, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology... |
Military Medicine Symposium To Address Full Spectrum Of Care Following Traumatic Brain Injury |
| Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| New Jersey Congressman and former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jon Runyan and Army Vice Chief of Staff General Peter Chiarelli will deliver keynote addresses at the fourth USU-HJF Military Medicine Symposium, "The TBI Spectrum," Sept. 22, 2011... |
Non-Epileptic Seizures May Be Misdiagnosed Longer In Veterans |
| Tue, 06 Sep 2011 01:00:00 PST |
| Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures may go undiagnosed for much longer in veterans compared to civilians, according to a new study published in the September 6, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. This type of seizure is different from seizures related to epilepsy and is thought to have a psychological origin... |
Fewer Reports Of Ethical Misconduct By Troops In Iraq Due To US Army Battlefield Ethics Training |
| Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:00:00 PST |
| An editorial in this weeks 9/11 Special Issue of The Lancet reveals that soldiers were positively influenced by leader-led battlefield ethics training in understanding ways to interact with and treat non-combatants, resulting in fewer reports of ethical misconduct during deployment in Iraq... |
Study Offers Insight For Returning Troops And Their Relationships |
| Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| Troops overseas often want nothing more than to get back home to loved ones - but the reunion period often can be more emotionally taxing than the deployment. Returning service members are at a greater risk of both depressive symptoms and relationship distress, and research shows the two often go together, says University of Illinois researcher Leanne Knobloch (pronounced kuh-NO-block)... |
Study Links Low DHA Levels To Suicide Risk Among U.S. Military Personnel |
| Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 PST |
| A new study suggests that low levels of the highly unsaturated omega-3 essential fatty acids, in particular DHA, may be associated with increased risk of suicide... |
Contact the VA for up to date information. You may be eligible for free health care even if you illness is not service connected.
From the VA's web site:
Other Health Insurance
VA is required to bill private health insurance providers for medical care, supplies and prescriptions provided for treatment of veterans’ non service-connected conditions. Generally, VA cannot bill Medicare, but can bill Medicare supplemental health insurance for covered services.
All veterans applying for VA medical care are required to provide information on their health insurance coverage, including coverage provided under policies of their spouses. Veterans are not responsible for paying any remaining balance of VA’s insurance claim not paid or covered by their health insurance, and any payment received by VA may be used to offset “dollar for dollar” a veteran’s VA co pay responsibility.
What’s in it for me?
- You will NOT be responsible for any unpaid balance that the insurance carrier does not pay except for VA co pay.
- Payments from your private health insurance carrier may allow us to offset part or all of your co pay.
- Many private health insurance companies will apply VA health care charges toward the satisfaction of your annual deductible.
Risks of Giving Up Your Private Health Insurance
What should you do with your private health insurance if you are accepted into VA health care program? You could save a lot of money if you dropped the insurance, but there are some things you should consider.
- What about your non veteran family members?
VA does not normally provide care for family members of veterans enrolled in VA’s health care program. If you drop your private health insurance, they may have no health care coverage. - What would happen if you are disenrolled from VA’s health care program?
There is no guarantee that in subsequent years Congress will appropriate sufficient funds for VA to provide care for all enrolment Priority Groups. This could happen if you are enrolled in one of the lower Priority Groups. This would leave you with no health care coverage. - What would happen if you drop your Medicare Part B coverage?
If you cancel your Medicare Part B Coverage, you need to know that you cannot be reinstated until January of the following year, AND you may be penalized for reinstatement.
For these reasons, VA encourages you to keep your private health insurance.
From the VA's web site:
What is TRICARE?
TRICARE is a regionally managed health care program for active duty and retired members of the uniformed services, their families, and survivors. There are four options for your health care; TRICARE Prime, TRICARE Extra, TRICARE Standard and TRICARE for Life. Each of these options has specific benefits, exclusions, co-pay and deductible requirements.
Do VA medical centers accept TRICARE?
Most VA medical centers accept TRICARE under certain conditions. Contact your local VA Enrolment Office or Enrolment Coordinator for more information.
Where can I get more information about TRICARE?
For more information about TRICARE, visit the TRICARE web site at http://www.tricare.mil/or you may call their toll-free number at 1-877-874-2273.
All Veterans
If you have a service connected illness or disability, contact the VA for care. Also, contact a certified VSO for assistance in filling out your claims or appeals.
Take care of yourself! We want you around. If you get enrolled in the VA system and have service connected issues, let your family know in case of an emergency.
Make it easy on your family in case of your death. Let your spouse know where all of you VA records are and who they can contact in case your death is service connected. Your spouse may be eligible for DIC.