Spring Break
Iraqnophobia Must Be Treated
Terrence Detoy
Issue date: 9/23/05 Section: Commentary
President George W. Bush's budget seems to slash at programs (and, of course, taxes) indiscriminately. Unfortunately for the perpetually increasing number of veterans returning from Iraq, the VA does not escape unscathed. The funding for state programs in particular has been cut unmercifully. Many veterans' hospitals are now seriously understaffed after having let many workers go. Co-payments for prescriptions for veterans have doubled while an annual enrollment fee of $250 has been implemented.
Interestingly, the cut in veterans' benefits seems to correlate with the VA complicating its registration procedure. Several months after the 2006 fiscal budget was set, the VA withdrew and re-examined over 72,000 registered cases of PTSD, suspecting that "misdiagnosis and fraud have inflated the numbers." The VA is going to great lengths to keep veterans with PTSD from receiving their benefits. Because of the misunderstood nature of PTSD, the newly required documentation is difficult to acquire. Veterans who in the past have been diagnosed with severe PTSD rendering them incapable of sustaining long-term work are being lead in circles chasing their $2,000 benefit checks and seeking psychological therapy in futility.
While Bush disassociates himself from the suffering of Iraq veterans through photogenic handshakes with wealthy World War II veterans, the VA is stuck trying to compensate and balance itself after withstanding drastic cuts in funding. In most states, less than 10 percent of PTSD veterans receive full benefits funding ($2,000 per month). In Connecticut, less than three percent do. Yet, the number of combat veterans with PTSD has soared in recent years. In 1999 the VA had 120,000 registered cases of PTSD eligible for disability benefits payments. In 2004, that number had risen to 216,000. PTSD benefits payments nationwide jumped from $1.7 billion to $4.3 billion between those same years. When Bush cut funding to the VA to finance the War on Terror, the VA was no longer able to shoulder the burden of all those benefits payments.
Interestingly, the cut in veterans' benefits seems to correlate with the VA complicating its registration procedure. Several months after the 2006 fiscal budget was set, the VA withdrew and re-examined over 72,000 registered cases of PTSD, suspecting that "misdiagnosis and fraud have inflated the numbers." The VA is going to great lengths to keep veterans with PTSD from receiving their benefits. Because of the misunderstood nature of PTSD, the newly required documentation is difficult to acquire. Veterans who in the past have been diagnosed with severe PTSD rendering them incapable of sustaining long-term work are being lead in circles chasing their $2,000 benefit checks and seeking psychological therapy in futility.
While Bush disassociates himself from the suffering of Iraq veterans through photogenic handshakes with wealthy World War II veterans, the VA is stuck trying to compensate and balance itself after withstanding drastic cuts in funding. In most states, less than 10 percent of PTSD veterans receive full benefits funding ($2,000 per month). In Connecticut, less than three percent do. Yet, the number of combat veterans with PTSD has soared in recent years. In 1999 the VA had 120,000 registered cases of PTSD eligible for disability benefits payments. In 2004, that number had risen to 216,000. PTSD benefits payments nationwide jumped from $1.7 billion to $4.3 billion between those same years. When Bush cut funding to the VA to finance the War on Terror, the VA was no longer able to shoulder the burden of all those benefits payments.