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

Eligibility for disability compensation or survivors' benefits depends on how much radiation the Veteran received and other factors, such as the period of time between exposure to radiation and the development of the disease. VA decides these claims on a case-by-case basis.

https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/radiation/diseases.asp

TOPLINE: Our mission in VA is to promote, protect and restore Veterans' mental health and overall well-being, to empower and equip them to achieve their life goals, and to provide quality, state-of-the-art care in a timely manner. VA's approach to care is one that focuses on the health of our Veterans and what matters to them for their own personalized health plan, known as the Whole Health approach.

VHA's mental health services cover the full continuum of care including self-help apps, outpatient care, residential treatment, and acute inpatient mental health stabilization. VHA has several access points to these mental health services including integrated services embedded in Primary Care medical teams, Emergency Departments procedures, and traditional mental health clinics and units. All VA medical centers are required to provide same day availability of mental health screening and care to meet Veterans' needs.

TOPLINE: Suicide is VA's top clinical priority. It is a national public health issue that affects people from all walks of life, not just Veterans. VA is implementing a full public health model, including community-based and clinically based interventions to focus both on what we can do now and over the long term to implement VA's National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide. Implementation of the National Strategy involves the deployment of several efforts: the Suicide Prevention 2.0 initiative (SP 2.0); Suicide Prevention Now initiative (Now); the President's Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS); 988 and Veterans Crisis Line expansion; new legislation including the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-171) and the Veterans Comprehensive Prevention, Access to Care, and Treatment Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-214); and ongoing research advancements and their translation into practice.

Specific actions we are taking include significant enhancements in clinical and community-based preventive services.
- Clinically, examples include screening Veterans regularly for suicidality across our health care continuum, broadening suicide safety planning interventions in the Emergency Department, and expanding the delivery of evidence-based psychotherapies specifically aimed at reducing suicide through telemental health services in SP 2.0 Clinical efforts.
- The SP Now initiative represents a set of goals that can be achieved in a short period of time and have a meaningful impact in preventing Veteran suicide. The Now initiative, which includes strategies specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, has five areas of focus: 1) lethal means safety; 2) suicide prevention in medical populations; 3) outreach to and understanding of prior VHA users; 4) suicide prevention program enhancements; and 5) paid media.
- VA's SP 2.0 Community-Based Interventions (CBI-SP) reach Veterans inside and outside of VA's system by embracing cross-agency collaborations and community partnerships to support local efforts to prevent Veteran suicide. These efforts have led to 35 states engaged in VA/SAMHSA Governor's Challenges with plans to expand to all 50 states and 5 U.S. territories in FY22. CBI-SP has three focused priority areas: 1) identifying Service members, Veterans, and their families and screening for suicide risk; 2) promoting connectedness and improving care transitions; and 3) increasing lethal means safety and safety planning.
- For an updated description of the overarching actions VA is taking for suicide prevention, please review the 2021 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.

VA-guaranteed home loans can help you purchase a home at a competitive interest rate. Generally, you do not have to make a downpayment or buy mortgage insurance to obtain a purchase loan. VA does not have loan limits, but the Veteran will need the income and credit to qualify.

https://www.benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/benefits-summary/SummaryofVAHomeLoanGuarantyBenefits.pdf

The Board prioritizes the drawdown of the pending legacy appeals while simultaneously adjudicating appeals under the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 (AMA), P.L. 115-55. Cases at the Board are worked in docket order (the order received). The amount of appeals pending at the Board has continued to grow. One of the first things I did as Secretary was authorize the Board to increase the number of Veteran Law Judges and support staff. THese additional resources, including the authorization to increase to 138 VLJs up from 103 is critical to meetings Veterans' expectations regarding tinely, accurate appeals processing.

VA is creating access for women Veterans to high quality, coordinated health care within a respectful, safe and welcoming environment. The Office of Women's Health created a series of videos designed to showcase VA's health care services and encourage women Veterans to come to VA for their care. Cultural campaigns on specific topics are developed quarterly and shared with internal and external stakeholders. A recent example is the She Wears the Boots podcast for transitioning servicewomen and women Veterans. VA is investing in changes to facilities which will make the spaces more welcoming to all Veterans, and particulaly for women. https://www.spreaker.com/show/she-wears-the-boots-a-podcast-for-women

For more information on all of the conditions considered as presumptive due to Agent Orange exposure see https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/hazardous-materials-exposure/agent-orange/. VA recommends working with an accredited Veterans Service Organization for specific assistance with refiling a claim based on your back condition. Additionally, we recommend contacting our national call center for claim specific assistance at [login to see] .

Although VA does not require Medicare enrollment, VA encourages Veterans to carefully consider their options when they become eligible for Medicare. Your personal decision on Medicare enrollment should take into account your future health care needs and the financial risks of not enrolling. Medicare may impose a penalty on the monthly premiums for individuals who do not enroll in Medicare during their initial eligibility period, if they later enroll. Enrollment in VA healthcare does not waive the penalty. Recommend Medicare review as well.

HPO is using $200 million in ARP funds to expand the SSVF shallow subsidy program to prevent and end homelessness and stem the tide of potential evictions that may occur when the CDC moratorium ends. The shallow subsidy is an effective tool in preventing homelessness because it provides a modest amount of rental assistance for two years. Shallow subsidy interventions can also provide long-term housing stability for Veterans who can increase income through employment.

As additional funds are provided through ARP, HPO plans to spend $75 million to conduct another GPD capital grant to create individual living spaces within transitional housing projects. The goal of the expansion is not to create more transitional housing inventory but to improve the quality of the GPD portfolio. This funding will improve personal safety for Veterans by reducing risks associated with shared living spaces. This funding will allow GPD grantees to continue to transform programs and meet the challenges local communities face when providing safe spaces for Veterans experiencing homelessness. Creating individual living spaces will also allow GPD grantees to serve a more diverse population, including women and older Veterans.

HPO plans to use approximately $ 50 million in ARP funds to expand HUD-VASH contracting services to develop collaborative case management partnerships in high-need areas. These contracts will allow HUD-VASH to expand capacity beyond traditional VA staffing models with a specific focus on housing search and placement services, which will help increase voucher utilization. HPO is also exploring opportunities to use ARP funds to partner with VA Geriatrics and Extended Care to support HUD-VASH efforts in providing services to older Veterans, a rapidly growing population within VA homeless programs.