Entrepreneur and Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang on July 22 unveiled his policy platform for veteran services and healthcare.
The plan, called "More Than A Handshake," aims to expand the services and benefits available to veterans. It includes a reverse boot camp to ready veterans for civilian life, and it would update the GI Bill, which provides support for veteran education.
Here are six healthcare-related details of the policy:
- While Mr. Yang's "Medicare for All" plan would cover general healthcare for veterans, under "More Than A Handshake" the VA would still provide veteran-specific health services like prosthetics, mental health and care for battlefield-related injuries.
- Mr. Yang would increase research funding for suicide prevention, post-traumatic stress disorder and battlefield injuries.
- Mr. Yang committed to reducing veteran suicides by 50 percent in four years. His plans to accomplish this goal include boosting awareness of services and launching campaigns to destigmatize treatment. His plan separately includes provisions to expand substance abuse treatment and mental healthcare services.
- "More Than A Handshake" would increase salaries and benefits for VA healthcare providers to improve recruitment and retention, particularly in specialties where more providers are needed, like women's health.
- Mr. Yang's plan would also allow veterans who trained to be paramedics or nurses in the military to retain their certifications when seeking civilian employment.
- While Mr. Yang is campaigning to legalize marijuana at the federal level, he would also institute medical marijuana waivers for veterans while that legislation is being debated.
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