{"id":73278,"date":"2025-06-03T15:15:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T22:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=73278"},"modified":"2025-06-03T15:15:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T22:15:57","slug":"barger-spearheads-push-to-end-delays-for-grieving-veteran-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=73278","title":{"rendered":"Barger Spearheads Push to End Delays for Grieving Veteran Families"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Click<\/p>\n

Today, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger successfully introduced a\u00a0motion<\/a>\u00a0that secured the Board\u2019s support in urging federal lawmakers to back legislation requiring\u00a0Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) physicians<\/strong>\u00a0to sign veteran death certificates within 72 hours of notification.<\/p>\n

The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the motion, emphasizing the need to eliminate unnecessary delays that often leave grieving families waiting weeks\u2014sometimes months\u2014just to access essential documents and benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about compassion, accountability, and basic decency,\u201d said\u00a0Supervisor Kathryn Barger<\/strong>. \u201cFamilies who have lost a loved one who served our country deserve our full support, not delays caused by bureaucratic red tape. The very least we can do is ensure they aren\u2019t left in limbo during such a painful time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The issue, while technical on paper, has very real consequences. When a veteran passes away, their family often cannot access financial accounts, survivor benefits, or even begin funeral planning without a signed death certificate. Under the current VA system, that wait can stretch up to eight weeks, compounding emotional grief with logistical hardship.<\/p>\n

In a recent letter sent to Congressional leaders, the\u00a0Veterans Survivor Coalition<\/strong>\u00a0made their stance clear. \u201cThis issue is not complicated, nor does it require extensive debate\u2014it is simply a matter of ensuring that VA physicians, who were the primary doctor for the veteran, sign the death certificate within 72 hours of notification,\u201d the letter stated.<\/p>\n

As of now, no federal law exists to guarantee this 72-hour timeframe. Supervisor Barger strongly believes this needs to change. Her motion directs the County\u2019s Chief Executive Office to support federal legislation that would establish the 72-hour rule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, Los Angeles County Board of...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73278"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73279,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73278\/revisions\/73279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}