so
hello and welcome to another edition of cck live my name is emma peterson and today i'm
joined by my colleagues alex gamache and michelle detroit and we are going to be
talking about women's veterans health care at the vha the veterans health administration
we'll have some links posted for you to various websites that are put out by va that you can
look at at your leisure um and in this video we're going to break down the different types
of health care benefits that are available to women veterans throughout the va system
so women are the fastest growing group in the veteran population with about 2 million currently
living in the united states and in addition to the general health and wellness benefits available to
all eligible veterans va offers a range of female specific services and resources
including reproductive and sexual health cancer screenings infertility services and mental health
and domestic violence care now these services are available to anyone that identifies as a woman
and will have additional information for you posted in the comments
so alex can you tell us a little bit about the reproductive health care benefits that vha
offers female veterans sure so i will start with birth control first va provides comprehensive
contraceptive care services and birth control options including hormonal and burial methods
long-acting reversible contraceptives emergency contraception and tubal litigation
moving on to pregnancy and maternity care in addition to comprehensive health services
such as medical exams and assistance with prenatal vitamins va can help veterans
prepare for pregnancy with mental health services housing and food support to access va's pregnancy
services we recommend that you contact your va primary health care provider if you do not have
one you can call the women's veteran program manager at your local va which most all most
if not all va medical centers will have to help you access va benefits and health care services
maternity care is covered by va but provided by non-va providers in non-va facilities
women can continue to receive care for other conditions at the va during this period
va maternity care coordinators work with pregnant veterans to navigate their care
maternity care services at the va are available and they include are not limited to physical exams
and lab tests prenatal education and screening ultrasounds genetic tests prescription drugs
breastfeeding chest feeding and lactation support and services in case of a miscarriage or
stillbirth to access maternity specific services veterans who are enrolled in va healthcare should
contact or make an appointment with their maternity care coordinator at their local
va that's so important it sounds like that you're allowed to continue maybe to see the ob of your
choice but get that care covered for by va because there are a number of out-of-pocket expenses that
can come up with pregnancy for all those labs and screenings that you need to do just to make
sure that everything's going okay during the development of your baby so michelle what about
infertility services i know that can be a really costly expense stressful expense for a lot of
people out there struggling with it what can vha do for our female veterans out there in terms of
infertility services yeah so as long as a veteran is enrolled in va healthcare they're eligible to
receive infertility treatment typically you'll need a referral from your va provider more like
a primary care physician to receive these services the services can include but are not limited to
infertility assessments and counseling laboratory tests including genetic counseling and testing
imaging services such as ultrasounds or x-rays hormone therapies maybe some surgical corrections
if you have endometriosis polyps blockages or scars fertility medication which can be very
costly um artificial insemination tubal ligation getting your tubes tied reversed
uh vasectomy reversal egg freezing and then also sperm retrieval techniques
what's interesting is if you are service connected and that condition causes the
infertility you end your spouse may be eligible for inverto um so ivf treatments or other forms
of assisted reproduction technology um if you meet certain criterias that are set forth uh under the
criteria for this additional benefit but that was something i didn't actually know until today
for more information on fertility services coverages eligibility requirements a veteran
should call the women's call women veterans health care center or talk to their healthcare primary
provider they'd be able to give you a little bit more information about the requirements
and kind of what additional services that may be offered uh through this healthcare system
great thanks michelle um and just sort of rounding out the you know typical trifecta of um ob gyn
services va will also help you with menopause resources um so menopause you know normal hormonal
and biological change that's coming for us all um and it's a gradual process that can take years
and symptoms can be bothersome to downright just unbearable so if you have menopausal symptoms
that are bothering you and you already have a va primary care provider you can let them
know about those symptoms and they can review options with you or you can call your nearest
va medical center and ask for the women's veterans program manager the wvpm and they
can help coordinate any services or care that you might need another important function of women's
veterans health care the vha has to do with cancer screening so alex can you tell us about that
yeah so moving on to gynological cancer this is cancer that develops in your reproductive organs
these cancers are more easily treated if they're detected early so at the va women can receive
their pap tests in hpv vaccines from their primary care provider if your pap comes back abnormal
your provider will let you know the next steps for potential screening so if your provider determines
that you need to see a gynological specialist or an oncologist they can refer you to one at
your va medical center or your va healthcare facility in your community these specialists will
work with your primary care provider to develop a treatment or care plan for your gynological cancer
and you know i think um cancer screenings and also the infertility screenings are so
important to many of our female veterans out there um what with you know the
emerging information about exposures to things like firm pits and pfasses on various bases so be
sure to reach out to that coordinator if you have any concerns with either of those areas of health
now michelle speaking of health you know we've talked about bodily systems what about mental
health can va help our female veterans out there with mental health conditions
yes they can a woman veteran you you are able to have services and healthcare treatment for mental
health conditions related to service such as depression eating disorders ptsd substance abuse
suicide prevention in addition to it not just being related to your service there also provides
special resources for pregnant and postpartum veterans struggling with their mental health
so it's always good to know if you are you know in those two criterias of pregnancy and postpartum
that you do have resources available through va not just because it was related to your service
all former service members and veterans are eligible for one year free mental health
care services regardless of their discharge status even if you're not eligible to receive
other va health care you may still be able to get certain health care services if you do not
have health care benefits but i've served in a combat zone you may get counseling and alcohol and
drug assessments done and other support at your local vet center as well so there are a lot of
options and resources out there for mental health treatment for women that were in service
um finally another sort of tangent off of that is that if you're living currently
in an abusive situation or if you've experienced sexual trauma of any kind
whether that is pre during or post your military service va has resources to support
you know they can help you get out of an intimate partner violent situation
help you address any repercussions from military sexual traumas or other sexual assaults
so even if you're not eligible to receive other va health care you may still be able to get
certain health care services like care related to the residuals of a military sexual trauma
so do reach out if you need assistance with any of those issues um so alex um how do women out there
access these benefits what should they do yeah so if you served on active duty in
the military and when and were discharged under honorable conditions you likely qualify for some
va health benefits as someone who identifies as a woman veteran you may be eligible for va health
care benefits including gender specific care specific eligibility requirements and information
on these groups can be found on va's website which we will link below to apply for va health
care veterans should fill out va form 10-10 easy application for health benefits for assistance
filling out this form veterans can contact va or seek the help of an accredited agent or a vso
thanks alex so more information about all the topics we discussed today
can be found on our website and our blog alex any closing thoughts about women's health care
i'm kind of going off a little bit of michelle's topic i also did not know
that veterans could get one year of free health care benefit or mental health services
so i would just recommend that if any woman is going through any of these topics that
we've discussed that they definitely reach out and get the assistance that they need
michelle any final thoughts i think that it's just hard sometimes to know
what all the benefits you are eligible for or have so if you're not sure it's always good to ask it's
good to get information there's definitely packets websites and stuff that provide more
information and always talk to your doctors to see if it's something that might be covered for you
great thank you so thank you for joining us to talk today about
women's healthcare benefits available at the vha please be sure to keep up with
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