On November 11 the United States honors its veterans with Veterans Day, a national holiday. However, making sure our veterans receive the care and recognition they have earned should involve a lot more than a federal holiday in the second week of November. Those who have made great sacrifices deserve proper care when they come home, particularly if they suffer from debilitating health issues, whether in their senior years or earlier in their lives
Among the common maladies afflicting our veterans are:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Depression and other mental health issues
- Traumatic brain injury
- Musculoskeletal injuries and pain
- Infectious disease;
- Chemical exposure;
- Noise and vibration exposure/sensitivity.
Tragically, an estimated 18 to 22 American vets commit suicide daily. No American should find that statistic tolerable. Our veterans deserve the highest quality health care and that includes care in the home.
The Veterans Administration’s long-term care services include:
- 24/7 nursing and medical care;
- Physical therapy;
- Help with daily tasks (like bathing, dressing, making meals, and taking medicine);
- Comfort care and help with managing pain;
- Support for caregivers who may need skilled help or a break so they can work, travel, or run errands.
Veterans can get this care in many different settings — some run by VA and others run by state or community organizations that the VA inspect and approve.
There are three pieces of important legislation before Congress right now that would benefit millions of Americans, including our veterans. They are:
- Credit for Caring Act – For anyone caring for an elderly or disabled veteran, this legislation would provide a tax credit of up to $5,000 for expenses such as respite care, home modifications, hiring home care aides and other caregiving professionals to provide care and services, and assistive technology.
- Choose Home Act – This legislation supports patients, such as our veterans, to leave the hospital and recover at home with a mix of expanded skilled nursing, therapy, personal care, telehealth services and more. In this way, eligible patients can choose to recover at home in a safe home environment with appropriate and sufficient care tailored to meet their individual needs.
- Better Care Better Jobs Act – This legislation would expand access to home care for our elderly and disabled veterans and all Americans by making a significant investment into the Medicaid Home and Community Based Services Program with the goals of improving access to care in the home and addressing workforce challenges.
We hope you will follow the links above to our Advocacy Center and send a quick and easy message to your elected representatives about supporting these bills. It takes literally seconds and just a few clicks of your time.
Quality care in the home is the best health care and we owe our veterans the very best. Let’s all do our part to make it happen.
