Veteran caregivers hope for financial boost

Much has been spoken and written about in recent months about military and veteran caregivers, and the responsibilities they are charged with.

According to an article in the RAND Review, they provide services worth billions of dollars each year. Those services can cost the caregivers financial and emotional costs, and yet in many cases they do not receive recognition, yet alone financial compensation for their efforts.

In the article, written by RAND staffer Doug Irving, it was estimated that as many as 105 million Americans are currently providing care for someone. Of some interest, many of those individuals do not consider themselves caregivers. They are merely doing what family and friends do to help others. If the caregivers were paid nursing assistants the salaries would be in the billions of dollars each year. If they were nurses, doing detailed medical work, the cost would come up to close to trillions of dollars.

A large number of the types of caregiving for veterans includes helping those who have traumatic brain injuries. Other areas of care include individuals with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, suffering from memory loss and administering oxygen. Caregivers also often find themselves having to fill out reams of paperwork, taking care of finances and other administrative duties.

I won’t detail the exact percentages of men vs. women who provide care to service members and veterans, but women are slightly in the majority, more so when it comes to caring for those over the age of 60.

The Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act has become law and will increase the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) share of covering home nursing care from 65 percent to 100 percent of costs, among other provisions. The changes have long been sought by caregivers and advocates who feel veterans should be able to live out their final days at home if they choose. While the current administration’s stance about the VA budget is still largely unknown, it’s a fact that the VA has been adding more and more medical benefits for veterans during the past couple of years. Air Force veteran Doug Collins was recently named VA secretary and in a video on YouTube he said that current benefits are not going to be cut, and new ones may be added. Sounds good to me!

CALENDAR ALERT: The Legislature is now in session in Carson City and one day in March is currently scheduled to be Veterans and Military Day. (Date yet to be finalized as of this writing.) Veterans’ bills will be discussed in the Assembly and Senate, and various veterans’ organizations will set up displays outside. It all depends on the weather. In some years past, snow and wind precluded such outdoor activities. Temperatures permitting and the absence of snow, I hope to be there. Although it’s a veterans’ event and a strong turnout is expected, most anyone is welcome. See you there?