Mary Wilson
Well-known member
Pentagon & Congress
Lawmakers: Postal changes delay mail-order medicine for vets
Hope Yen, The Associated Press
23 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Policy changes that slow delivery at the U.S. Postal Service are taking a toll on military veterans, who are reporting much longer wait times to receive mail-order prescription drugs, according to Democratic senators.
In a letter Friday, the 31 senators take aim at new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a GOP fundraiser who took the post in June and has since imposed several operational changes that have led to mail backlogs across the United States. His cost-cutting measures have come as President Donald Trump rails against increases in mail-in voting and says he may hold up postal funding to impede the balloting in November.
The senators say they’ve heard from hundreds of veterans, as well as Department of Veterans Affairs staff, who cited weekslong mail delays, “causing veterans to miss doses of vital medications.”
“Access to prescription medications is especially integral during the COVID-19 pandemic when routine health care appointments may be delayed or cancelled,” according to the letter, which was led by Montana Sen. Jon Tester, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “No veteran should have to wonder when their antidepressant or blood pressure medication may arrive — and the effects can be devastating if doses are missed.”
VA fills about 80% of veteran prescriptions by mail. That translates to almost 120 million prescriptions a year, with deliveries arriving daily to about 330,000 veterans across the country.
“Those who gave so much to serve this country should be able to count on the nation’s Postal Service to deliver their medications in a timely manner,” the lawmakers wrote Friday.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/...order-medicine-for-vets/#.XzrSt9qfptk.twitter
Lawmakers: Postal changes delay mail-order medicine for vets
Hope Yen, The Associated Press
23 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Policy changes that slow delivery at the U.S. Postal Service are taking a toll on military veterans, who are reporting much longer wait times to receive mail-order prescription drugs, according to Democratic senators.
In a letter Friday, the 31 senators take aim at new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a GOP fundraiser who took the post in June and has since imposed several operational changes that have led to mail backlogs across the United States. His cost-cutting measures have come as President Donald Trump rails against increases in mail-in voting and says he may hold up postal funding to impede the balloting in November.
The senators say they’ve heard from hundreds of veterans, as well as Department of Veterans Affairs staff, who cited weekslong mail delays, “causing veterans to miss doses of vital medications.”
“Access to prescription medications is especially integral during the COVID-19 pandemic when routine health care appointments may be delayed or cancelled,” according to the letter, which was led by Montana Sen. Jon Tester, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “No veteran should have to wonder when their antidepressant or blood pressure medication may arrive — and the effects can be devastating if doses are missed.”
VA fills about 80% of veteran prescriptions by mail. That translates to almost 120 million prescriptions a year, with deliveries arriving daily to about 330,000 veterans across the country.
“Those who gave so much to serve this country should be able to count on the nation’s Postal Service to deliver their medications in a timely manner,” the lawmakers wrote Friday.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/...order-medicine-for-vets/#.XzrSt9qfptk.twitter