Biden seeks to allay veterans' concerns about benefits

Speaking at the Disabled American Veterans' national convention, Vice President Joe Biden reminded the group that veterans benefits were exempted from the automatic budget cuts that will be imposed on military and domestic programs as of Jan. 2. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama signed into law a legislative package that provides improved health care, housing, education and memorial services.   

The Associated Press: Biden Vows To Protect Care For Veterans
Seeking to allay concern about looming cuts to defense spending, Vice President Joe Biden told veterans Saturday that their benefits will be protected, even as he derided lawmakers from both parties for much talk and little action on a deal to avert the cuts…Addressing the Disabled American Veterans' national convention, Biden reminded veterans that their medical care was exempted from automatic cuts due to hit military and domestic programs on Jan. 2. He also said the Obama administration has increased funding to veterans by 30 percent, and promised to end a massive backlog of disability claims by 2015. An estimated 4,000 people are attending the convention at Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas to discuss issues such as mental health care for returning veterans and the backlog of Veterans Affairs disability claims (Rindels, 8/4).

The Associated Press: Obama To Sign Veterans Measure, Then Campaign
President Barack Obama will sign a measure Monday aimed at helping veterans before heading to Connecticut to campaign for his re-election. The president will sign a law called the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012. The bipartisan legislative package helps provide for the needs of veterans and their families with improved health care, housing, education and memorial services (8/6).

In other news related to veterans' health -

Medscape:  Telephone Pep Talk Gets More Vets Into Therapy
A brief motivational telephone interview is much more effective than a standard "check-in" call in getting veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who have mental health diagnoses to start treatment, new research shows.  The pilot randomized study also showed that veterans receiving telephone motivational interviewing also were significantly more likely to stay in therapy. There was also a reduction in the reported rates of marijuana use, and there was less feeling of stigma surrounding mental health treatment (Brooks, 8/3).