|
Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) bring the horrors of the battlefield
home. Twenty-six percent of Iraq and Afghanistan
veterans who seek care at the VA have PTSD.
As the number of veterans seeking health
care continues to rise, the VA is straining to
meet demands.
Amid talk of a drawdown of troops in Iraq,
new statistics from the Department of Defense (DoD)
and the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA)
show that US casualties are still climbing
quickly. Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield
injuries and deaths number 81,361, up from
72,043 last January, according to data obtained
through a Freedom of Information Act request by
Veterans for Common Sense (VCS). Veteran
patients - including those who didn't seek care
until their return home - shot up to 400,304
(from 263,909 in December 2007).
For the thousands of soldiers flooding the
VA, mental illness tops the list of ailments.
Forty-five percent of VA patients have already
been diagnosed with mental health conditions,
including a startling 105,000 diagnosed with
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These
data do not include the incalculable number of
mentally ill veterans who have not received a
diagnosis or haven't sought treatment at the VA.
Health care for veterans has improved
substantially in the past year, mostly due to
legislative changes and funding boosts,
according to Raymond Kelley, legislative
director of AMVETS. The recently passed Dignity
for Wounded Warriors Act entitles veterans to up
to five years of free health care for
military-related medical conditions. Other
legislative victories include improvements to VA
facilities, increased mental health care
research and a boost for the claims processing
system, which has been vastly understaffed and
overburdened throughout the "war on terror."
However, many barriers to adequate care and
compensation remain, particularly for veterans
filing for disability benefits. Delays and
denials of those claims are routine. Among vets
with PTSD, 59 percent have not been approved for
benefits, meaning that their claims are pending
or rejected - or that, due to any number of
deterrents, they have not filed a claim.
According to Paul Sullivan, executive
director of VCS, the average wait-time for
veterans to receive an answer after filing for
disability compensation is more than six months.
A recent VCS lawsuit against VA showed that PTSD
patients face even longer delays.
"That's wrong and it needs to get fixed now,
especially during the recession when the veteran
may also be out of work due to their
disability," Sullivan told Truthout. "While
veterans wait, their homes are foreclosed.
Renters are evicted. Cars are repossessed. Some
families often lack food or utilities while VA
dawdles endlessly. Many veterans become homeless
waiting for disability benefits."
More than 809,000 veterans (from all wars and
peacetime) are currently waiting on pending
claims. Sullivan points to the case of Iraq
veteran Scott Eiswert, who committed suicide
after the VA rejected his PTSD disability
compensation claim for the third time. After his
death, the VA went further, denying Eiswert's
life insurance benefits.
Jennifer Pacanowski, an Iraq veteran now
living in Pennsylvania, waited two and a half
years to receive a PTSD diagnosis, and nine
months for her PTSD claim to be processed. In
the meantime, her mother paid for all her
medical care. Most of Pacanowski's efforts to
utilize the VA yielded only frustration.
"Every time I reached out to the VA for help,
they tried to have me admitted into the psych
ward, which scared me, since all I needed was to
talk to someone," Pacanowski told Truthout. "My
family doctor from childhood tried to help with
meds and treatment but [dealing with] combat
veterans was a completely new thing for him, so
it was hit or miss, with months of med changes
and severe depression and anxiety, so I could
not function."
Pacanowski still can't get all she needs from
the VA. Since receiving her diagnosis, she has
been eligible for full mental health benefits.
However, the VA is overbooked, crowded and
understaffed, and can only offer Pacanowski an
appointment once every three weeks. So her
family still shoulders much of the burden,
paying for a private psychologist who can fill
in the gaps.
According to Kelley, some claims are
adjudicated quickly - usually those of recently
discharged vets with very clear medical
documentation of their condition. However, if a
veteran doesn't visit the VA soon after
returning home, or can't supply what the VA
deems clear documentation, the claim could
linger for years.
Moreover, the VA's intimidating bureaucracy
deters some veterans from filing a claim at all.
The process is arduous and sometimes convoluted,
and, since a positive result is never
guaranteed, vets sometimes abandon their
attempts.
"We understand from speaking with veterans
that some veterans are discouraged from filing
claims because the claim form is 23 pages,"
Sullivan said. "I have watched veterans turn
away in disgust when handed the stack of
redundant forms VA requires."
The current, bulky method for filing claims
also leaves a high margin for error, increasing
the chances of denial. VCS suggests shortening
the claim form to one page. According to Kelley,
veterans should consult an officer from a
veterans' service organization before filing a
claim, to make sure it is correct and complete.
Pacanowski points to other reasons why
veterans - especially those with PTSD - avoid
the VA. "I know many veterans with PTSD from all
wars," she said. "Most are afraid to go to the
VA because of fear of judgment and the constant
run-around you get … The vets I know that don't
go to the VA receive most help from fellow
veterans. Or try and forget."
Self-medication, including drugs and alcohol,
is also a popular alternative to the
intimidating bureaucracy of VA treatment,
according to Pacanowski. With the advent of the
Obama administration, veterans' organizations
are hopeful that many of their long-sought goals
will be realized. The House Veterans' Affairs
Committee, too, is looking to make significant
headway under the new president. According to
Rep. Bob Filner, chairman of the committee, top
priorities include providing the VA with
"sufficient and timely funding," expanding
access to health care for veterans in rural
areas, and rebuilding the compensation and
benefits system.
"We have a remarkable opportunity to make
progress this year when it comes to veterans'
issues," Filner told Truthout. "President Obama
has laid out an ambitious agenda and the House
Veterans' Affairs Committee is committed to
bringing results to our veterans and their
families."
Kelley points to the stabilization of VA
funding as a key priority for the coming years.
Under the current system, the VA budget remains
uncertain each year until the annual
appropriations bills are passed. This makes it
difficult to plan long-term projects or expand
ongoing initiatives.
"There has been a long-running problem with
VA receiving a sufficient, timely and
predictable budget," Kelley told Truthout. "AMVETS
supports legislation that will allow Congress to
provide advanced appropriations for VA
healthcare, allowing VA to know well in advance
of their budget so they can begin hiring
personnel and planning infrastructure projects."
VCS is pushing for another measure to
increase efficiency at the VA: automatic
approval of disability claims for Iraq,
Afghanistan and Gulf War veterans who have been
diagnosed with PTSD. The extra claim-approval
step often means months or years of painful
limbo for ill veterans, and according to
Sullivan, eliminating it would be a legally and
scientifically sound move.
Filner confirmed that when it comes to the
claims process, the VA has a long way to go.
Moving into the new governmental climate, he
stresses the urgency of addressing the issues
keeping patients from receiving proper
treatment.
"We must make progress in rebuilding the VA's
broken benefits system," Filner said. "We need
to thank veterans for their service by granting
their claims and providing appropriate care." |
