2021 Veterans Day Q&A with U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough

As of the date of this response, Charis Bible College has eight programs approved for the GI Bill and VA education benefits continued to be paid for enrollment. VA was advised by the Colorado SAA of its suspension of two programs, however, upon review, VA advised the SAA to correct its administrative error. Currently, none of the school’s programs are suspended and currently enrolled students are receiving GI Bill benefits.

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Many Veterans receive complementary and integrative health (CIH) treatments either on station at their VA Medical Center or CBOC, via telehealth, or in the community. Consistent with the VHA Directive 1137 - Provision of Complementary and Integrative Health, massage therapy and acupuncture have medical evidence to support their benefit, and are offered when it is part of a Veteran's care plan as referred by their health care team. Massage therapy may be provided by a massage therapist or other provider with soft tissue training like a physical therapist or chiropractor. When not available on-station a Veteran may be referred out into the community for massage therapy if recommended as part of the care plan. VHA does not place a maximum on the number of visits or hard cap. Providers should approve additional episodes of care (via VA Form 10-10172 Request for Service) if there is functional improvement or benefit to the Veteran. I understand your concerns about your acupuncture experience. There are times when needles are intended to be left in the body like with Battlefield Acupuncture, but this sounds like that wasn't the case. When an event like this occurs it should be reported to your VA Medical Center so that we can track and appropriately work with non-VA providers for safety concerns. For any patient safety event that occurred in community care, a VAMC staff member, or patient advocate should be notified so they may report it in the Joint Patient Safety Reporting System, as defined by the Patient Safety – Incident Reporting SharePoint. A Veteran Fact Sheet is available to help with this process. https://www.va.gov/COMMUNITYCARE/docs/pubfiles/factsheets/FactSheet_20-46.pdf

Thank you for your feedback. Please contact your primary care team to identify options for healthcare providers closer to you. We would be happy to address any other concerns if identifying informiaton could be provided.

Thank you for your question. The mission of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is to "honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being." The role of the Secretary of Veteran Affairs (Secretary) is to ensure that this mission is accomplished for all Veterans. Every Veteran deserves safe, effective, high-quality care, which includes access to the interventions their medical team deem to be medically necessary for their care. Gender-affirming procedures have been proven effective at mitigating serious health conditions, including suicidality, substance abuse, and dysphoria. VA currently provides all medically necessary gender-affirming care to transgender Veterans with the exception of gender-affirming surgical interventions, due to an exclusion in the VA medical benefits package. Removing this exclusion would allow VA to provide transgender and gender diverse Veterans with coordinated, medically necessary, transition-related surgical procedures. In addition, revising the medical benefits package would enable a safe, coordinated continuum of care that is Veteran-centric and consistent with VA's values of equity and respect for all Veterans.

This past August, the federal government began an all-out push to ensure that tenants and landlords take advantage of the historic funding for emergency rental assistance to help cover rent, utilities, and other housing costs to keep people in their homes. Thanks to the ARP, federal rental assistance is reaching renters who are behind on housing costs, as well as landlords who have struggled financially during the pandemic. These programs are run locally, and emergency rental assistance is available across the country. VA is committed to helping Veterans access resources to prevent them from losing their housing following the expiration of national and local eviction moratoria and other COVID-19-related renter protections.

Veterans facing eviction or homelessness can visit va.gov/HousingResources, VA's one-stop-shop for information on eviction and homeliness prevention resources including:

o The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Rental Assistance Finder.
o The National Call Center for Homeless Veterans to assess each Veteran's unique situation and identify the best options to help them secure stable housing, pay their rent, or avoid foreclosure or eviction.
o VA's Partial Claim Payment program (VAPCP) to temporarily defer repayment of their mortgage principal to help eligible Veterans remain in their homes.

The Biloxi VAMC issued over 17,000 community care authorizations in the 4th quarter of FY21.
There are six eligibility criteria for community care under the MISSION act. More information regarding these criteria are located at https://www.va.gov/COMMUNITYCARE/programs/veterans/General_Care.asp
Veterans should consult with the local providers.

There are a number of vital volunteer roles across VA. They vary by local facility, so the best way to identify how you can assist is by connecting with the VA Center for Development & Civic Engagement (CDCE) at your nearest VA medical center. To learn more about volunteer opportunities and connect with the CDCE Program Manager, please visit http://www.volunteer.va.gov .

If you have an issue to report about an employee, please contact OIG here: https://www.va.gov/oig/hotline/default.asp

For info on VA and emergency medical care visit: https://www.va.gov/communitycare/programs/veterans/emergency_care.asp. If you have an urgent question, please contact our White House VA hotline: [login to see]