Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Despite Being 'Very Much Alive,' 4,200 Veterans' Benefits Cut Off After Being Declared Dead
A Florida congressman said the Veterans Administration cut off the benefits of more than 4,200 people nationwide after they were wrongly declared dead. Representative David Jolly, a Republican, said they were 鈥樷榲ery much alive鈥欌 and their benefits were resumed after the VA looked into their cases, which happened between 2011 and 2015. Jolly raised the issue with the VA in November on behalf of a group of veterans in the Tampa Bay area. He said Wednesday that the agency has changed its protocols for confirming deaths. (Lush, 5/26)
When Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald compared the exceptionally-long wait times veterans still endure to get health care to lines at Disneyland, a national firestorm erupted. House Speaker Paul Ryan said his words reflected a 鈥渃ulture of indifference鈥 and McDonald apologized, but two years after the first VA scandal, wait times are still a major problem. (5/25)