Last month President Obama announced a proposed $168.8 billion budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2016, representing a 7.5 percent increase in discretionary spending. Among many other veterans benefits<\/a>, the additional funding will focus on electronic medical records and other technology improvements, mental health treatments, medical and prosthetic research, long-term care and telehealth. Here are a few highlights of the proposed budget.<\/p>\n A large portion of the VA budget, $63.2 billion, will focus on improving the medical care provided to veterans, including $446 million for improved women’s services alone. The main categories that will receive additional funding are mental health, prosthetics, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, readjustment counseling and long-term care. The Department of Defense<\/a> refers to traumatic brain injury as one of the signature injuries of troops wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq. Additionally, a study<\/a> recently published (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Changes to VA Benefits in VA Budget for 2016 Last month President Obama announced a proposed $168.8 billion budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2016, representing a 7.5 percent increase in discretionary spending. Among many other veterans…<\/span><\/p>\nImproved Health Care<\/strong><\/h1>\n