Highway Deaths Up, But Not For Seniors

A woman in Floral dress sitting in the chair and smiling

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had expected deaths to decline because the number of miles driven by Americans was down 13.2% in 2020, but that turned out not to be the case.  There were 38,680 traffic fatalities last year, up 7.2% last year, the biggest rate of increase since 2007.  However, those 65 and older saw a 9% decline in traffic fatalities, due in large part to seniors staying at home more due to COVID-19.

Veterans Administration Again Under Fire

A woman taking the man in wheel chair to the car

There has been so much bad press about the Veterans Administration (VA) over the past several years.  I had thought it had died down recently, but no such luck.  The VA is allowed to refer veterans to outside physicians when they are overloaded, which seems to be all of the time.  USA Today just reported, however, that VA managers are blocking vets from outside care, a violation of the Mission Act.  The story rotated around a woman who had cancer but was denied the approval to see an outside doctor.  After she filed four federal complaints, she was called “disruptive” and told all of her health care must be done at the VA, otherwise her care would be “too fragmented.”  The Mission Act, passed by President Trump in 2018, says that when the VA can’t deliver care for any of six reasons, it is supposed to pay other health care systems to do it instead.  A USA Today Investigation found that VA administrators have been overruling doctor’s judgements and preventing VA patients from seeing anyone outside of the VA system.  “That’s tragic and jarring,” Ryan Gallucci, a national director for Veterans of Foreign Wars, told USA Today.  I agree.  I hope this issue is addressed immediately.