Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
VA Increasing Its Efforts To Provide Hospice Care
Starting last year, more military veterans are passing away in hospice care than in all of VA trauma and ICU wards combined. That's because the millions of Americans who served in Korea and World War II are reaching their 80s and 90s; Vietnam veterans are reaching their 70s. That means the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is focusing on how to make veterans comfortable in their final weeks and months. (Lawrence, 1/28)
The federal government has agreed to settle a lawsuit accusing the Department of Veterans Affairs of misusing its sprawling West Los Angeles health campus while veterans with brain injuries and mental impairment slept in the streets, people familiar with the agreement said Tuesday. Under the settlement, the VA will develop a master land-use plan for the campus that identifies sites for housing homeless veterans. Further details were not available. (Holland, 1/27)
