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After five suicidal veterans walked out of the emergency room without getting help during a single week in January, Brandon Coleman brought his concerns to his supervisor at the VA Hospital in Phoenix. Coleman, a therapist and decorated veteran, urgently warned that there was a broader problem with how suicidal patients were being handled. Six days after he spoke with his boss, Coleman recalled, he was suspended from his job. He believes it was in retaliation. (Wax-Thibodeaux, 3/5)

Congress says more still needs to be done to reform the Veterans Affairs Department nearly a year after the waiting list scandal was exposed, and despite a bill last summer designed to correct the bureaucratic flaws that led to veterans getting poor care. The House voted earlier this week to let the VA secretary take back bonuses from senior executives who are later found to have manipulated wait-time data, which was a key ingredient of last year’s scandal. (Klimas, 3/5)

Federal officials have initiated investigation into mental health services available for returning soldiers in central Iowa after a veteran was found dead last month in a Des Moines park. The office for U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst announced Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General's office has agreed to review the programs provided at the VA Central Iowa Health Systems. Ernst issued a request on Feb. 23 following the death of 41-year-old Richard Miles, whose body was found frozen at Water Works Park a few days earlier. (3/5)