Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Despite Being 'Very Much Alive,' 4,200 Veterans' Benefits Cut Off After Being Declared Dead
A Florida congressman said the Veterans Administration cut off the benefits of more than 4,200 people nationwide after they were wrongly declared dead. Representative David Jolly, a Republican, said they were 鈥樷�榲ery much alive鈥欌�� and their benefits were resumed after the VA looked into their cases, which happened between 2011 and 2015. Jolly raised the issue with the VA in November on behalf of a group of veterans in the Tampa Bay area. He said Wednesday that the agency has changed its protocols for confirming deaths. (Lush, 5/26)
When Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald compared the exceptionally-long wait times veterans still endure to get health care to lines at Disneyland, a national firestorm erupted. House Speaker Paul Ryan said his words reflected a 鈥渃ulture of indifference鈥� and McDonald apologized, but two years after the first VA scandal, wait times are still a major problem. (5/25)