Latest news with #Meginley
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Louisiana could open VA homes to paying National Guard, Reserve military veterans
Military decorations on a U.S. Army uniform. (Photo credit: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator) State residents who served in the military on a part-time basis could soon opt to live at Louisiana Veteran Homes locations, which provide geriatric and psychiatric health care services to qualified residents. House Bill 60, which Rep. Jay Gallé, R-Mandeville, is proposing for the upcoming legislative session, would allow admission for former members of the National Guard and military reservists into Veterans Affairs retirement and nursing homes even if they didn't see active duty. The only catch is that they would have to pay for the services on their own. 'We feel they signed a 'blank check' and were willing to sacrifice but did not serve during a war period and were never activated to active duty,' Louisiana VA Secretary Charlton Meginley said, adding that they deserve to at least be admitted to a veteran home on a private contract. The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, which crafted the legislation, operates five Louisiana Veteran Homes that house and care for a total of roughly 630 residents. They are located in Bossier City, Jackson, Jennings, Monroe and Reserve. Louisiana enacts law to let consultants profit off disabled veteran benefit claims Currently, admissions eligibility rules are fairly strict and exclude many veterans who did not see active duty but otherwise served honorably in the U.S. military, Gallé said. 'It's about being inclusive to allow veterans who didn't serve in a combat zone to stay in a retirement home,' he said. More than 261,000 military veterans live in Louisiana. About 75,000 receive disability benefits totaling roughly $2.1 billion, and 25,000 veterans have earned retirement pensions worth $700 million, according to the state VA office. Meginley said the state currently requires veterans to have served at least 90 days on active duty. Gallé's bill would waive that requirement without affecting the state's federal VA funding. Current state law has a similar exception for veteran spouses and 'Gold Star' relatives of service members killed in action, the VA secretary said. Meginley explained that the state VA receives federal funding for every eligible active duty veteran admitted to a home. If Gallé's bill is enacted, the state would still not receive any taxpayer money for the new class of veterans it admits to the homes, but it would admit non-active veterans who might want to stay at a veteran home and can afford to pay their own way, he said. Lawmakers will consider Gallé's bill during the session that convenes April 14. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Louisiana VA Secretary says veterans are an ‘economic powerhouse'
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Colonel Charlton Meginley was in Shreveport today. He had a packed to-do list, including attending the Military Affairs Council meeting earlier this morning and meeting with leadership at Barksdale Air Force Base to discuss how the VA can help the base. He aims to help service members transition to civilian life, specifically within the Shreveport-Bossier community. 'I want them to stay. I want our sons and daughters who left the state to come back home, and then I want service members who are looking for a new opportunity to consider Louisiana when they land,' said Meginley. 'Barksdale and then Northwest Louisiana, in particular, are prime locations. You've got great access. You've got a major VA hospital here. You've got this major military instillation, and there's lots of opportunity that we are seeing for veterans to say- you know what, we want to make Shreveport-Bossier our home after the service.' Starbase youth STEM program at Barksdale faces closure The community of Caddo-Bossier has 28,000 veterans, according to the VA Secretary. 'Veterans aren't thought of as an economic powerhouse, but we are,' said the Secretary. 'Those veterans bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in DOD and VA money into your tax base, making your tax base stronger, which ultimately provides the services for the community.' Meginley has held the role of Secretary for one year and was even a professor at LSU for one semester during his tenure. He called the opportunity an 'honor.' 'We were restarting our veteran law clinic and essentially trying to use law students as force multipliers for veterans to get additional legal help,' he explained. 'Last semester, it was helping them with disability claims,' said Meginley. 'This semester, they're helping with discharge upgrades, and I'm hoping in the future that we can help use that clinic for veterans to get end-of-life services, your wills, your power of attorney, those legal documents that everyone should be securing themselves with.' As for the future, Meginley will be at the Barksdale Defenders of Liberty Air Show, which is taking place from March 27-30th. The LDVA will have a booth where people can stop by to inquire about resources or ask additional questions. You can also visit their website or call 225.219.5000. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
