Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
McCain Introduces Bill To Remove Restrictions On Veterans' Health Care Choices
Arizona Sen. John McCain proposed legislation Wednesday to expand and make permanent a program allowing veterans to go anywhere for health care. McCain’s bill, borne of frustration over the slow pace of improvements in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' system, would remove the current restriction that veterans must wait more than 30 days or live more than 40 miles from a VA facility in order to go outside the VA system for care. (Theobald, 4/27)
Earlier this month a report revealed that the Manchester VA Hospital, like many others around the country, had been fudging wait times for veterans’ care. But the program designed to fix the backlog by allowing vets to get care closer to home is now having its own problems. (Sutherland, 4/27)
Meanwhile, NPR examines the relationship between PTSD and domestic violence for soldiers coming home from a combat zone —
Stacey Bannerman didn't recognize her husband after he returned from his second tour in Iraq. "The man I had married was not the man that came back from war," she says. Bannerman's husband, a former National Guardsman, had been in combat and been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He behaved in ways she had never expected, and one day, he tried to strangle her. (Lawrence, 4/27)
