During Legion Convention Speech, Shinseki Outlines "Ambitious" Goals For VA.   The AP (8/26) reports US Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki "says too few veterans are participating in VA programs, and too often those veterans face long waits to have claims processed. In a speech to the American Legion's national convention in Louisville," Shinseki "outlined goals to increase participation and reduce claims backlogs." He "says that President Barack Obama wants an electronic records system developed that will mean faster claims processing with fewer errors." Shinseki also "says VA is pursuing aggressive outreach efforts," and in "another ambitious goal," he "says he wants to end homelessness among...veterans."
      The Louisville Courier-Journal (8/26, Yetter) also covers Shinseki's speech, although it first took note of an address made at the convention by "Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff," who focused his comments on Afghanistan. Shinseki, meanwhile, "told Legion members that his focus is to improve services for veterans - including cutting the backlog of benefit claims, upgrading health services and eliminating the shameful problem of the estimated 131,000 homeless veterans in America. 'We're going to take those 131,000 veterans off the streets in the next five years,' said Shinseki," adding, "I know what a tall order that is." The Secretary, however, "said he believes it can be accomplished with better health care - including mental health and substance abuse treatment, education, job-training and housing assistance."
Impact: Sec. Shinseki speech

VA To Apologize For ALS Notification Errors.   The AP (8/26, Dickerscheid) reports the US Department of Veterans Affairs "will personally apologize to veterans who received erroneous letters saying they had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, agency spokeswoman Katie Roberts said Tuesday." The vets will also "receive an explanation about how 'this...regrettable error' occurred and reassurances that the letters do not confirm diagnoses of the fatal neurological disease, she said." Roberts "said the VA mailed more than 1,800 letters last week and has been notified by less than 10 veterans who received the letters in error," but the National Gulf War Resource Center, a "Gulf War veterans group that provides information, support and referrals about illnesses to military" members, "estimates at least 1,200 veterans received the letters by mistake." The Philadelphia Inquirer (8/26, 339K) runs a shortened version of this AP story as the lead item in its "In the Nation" column.
      Fox News' Special Report (8/25, 6:36 p.m. ET) aired a similar story. Meanwhile, during an interview with Fox News' Happening Now (8/25, 11:42 a.m. ET), Gulf War vet Brent Casey, one of those whom the VA mistakenly notified, said that when he got his letter, he thought he "had received a death sentence." Fox News added that some of the vets who received the letter in error "underwent a battery of painful and expensive tests," a point also made by MSNBC's Morning Show (8/25, 6:13 a.m. ET), which said the VA is "blaming a computer glitch" for the errant notices.
      MSNBC Live (8/25, 11:34 a.m. ET) also aired a report on this story, as did Fox News' Fox And Friends (8/25, 6:32 a.m. ET) and CNN's Newsroom (8/25), whose host, Kyra Phillips, said "these ongoing screw-ups at the VA are breaking my heart." Phillips added, "In just the past year, we've told you about dirty colonoscopy equipment at VA hospitals exposing thousands of our vets to HIV and hepatitis. Then the VA medical center in Philadelphia disclosed that it gave at least 98 vets incorrect radiation doses for cancer," and "now this mistake."
Impact: Errant health notification to Veterans

Veterans Care Manual Continues To Spark Debate.   In continuing coverage, MSNBC Live (8/25, 4:43 p.m. ET, 1.39M) aired a "Face Off" segment on the "growing mountain of misinformation finding its way into the debate over healthcare reform." According to MSNBC, "the conservative media in pushing the false claim that government-run healthcare, as evidenced by the Veterans Administration, will mean death books that push seniors to choose euthanasia. Here's the truth: The document is actually called 'Your Life, Your Choices,'" and it is "a 52-page optional guidebook for veterans. It is about living wills and end-of-life care," and it has "been in use since 1997, with the Bush Administration being the one that had its VA issue a directive in 2007 to list the book as an example of the type of document doctors should give their patients if requested."
      Later in the "Face Off" segment, when MSNBC Live (8/25, 4:49 p.m. ET, 1.39M) asked Republican strategist K.T. McFarland about recent criticisms of the document, she said, "I don't think we are going to throw GI Joe under the bus" in terms of healthcare reform. The Washington Times (8/26), however, disagreed, saying in an editorial that bureaucratic "disregard for the value of all life is insinuated in a government manual known as 'the Death Book,'" which the Times says "is instructive as a reflection on Obamacare priorities." The Times concludes, "Concern about rationing has been particularly acute among the elderly for good reason. The Death Book shows government's perverse interest in the end of life rather than its extension."
      The NPR (8/25, Shapiro) website also took note of the controversy surrounding the veterans care guidebook, and this coverage was noted by Ed O'Keefe, who, in the final item for his Washington Post (8/25) "Federal Eye" blog, published a question from a reader who was surprised to find NPR "treating the 'VA Death Book' accusation seriously. The people who throw this stuff up aren't serious about it, why do the journalists who cover it have to take them seriously?" In response, O'Keefe said the story is an "example of how the Obama administration is forced to address or reconcile with a Bush-era policy decision." He added, "Remember -- end-of-life planning is common, not just for veterans but for everyday folks." O'Keefe also wrote about this topic in another "Federal Eye" blog for the Washington Post (8/25), this time saying that the guidebook issue has come up after "a rough few months" for the VA, "which faces several scandals related to the medical care and benefits provided to veterans, the illegal behavior of former officials and headaches caused by policies started during the Bush administration."
Impact: End of Life guidance document