New legislation was passed on Wednesday that could be benefit veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The veteran's health bill announced by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is said to lower the burdensome threshold that veterans have to meet to receive treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The COMBAT PTSD Act would ensure that more service members afflicted with PTSD would be able to receive treatment. This is especially relevant in New York. In total, New York has the fourth largest veteran population in the country and has sent over 70,000 troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. There are almost 12,000 New York service members currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan theatres of combat.
Current regulations set by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) require that veterans pinpoint the stressor that triggered their PTSD, even if they have already been diagnosed. Stringent policies require that veterans track down incident reports, buddy statements, present medals, and overcome other hurdles to meet the threshold that VA mandates in order to receive desperately needed treatment and support. Schumer's legislation will help simplify the process for the hundreds of thousands of veterans needing treatment.
"We need to remove the barriers that prevent our soldiers and veterans from receiving care," said Schumer. "In an era where mental injuries are stigmatized and in a war where danger can strike in any place, it is clear that the current VA regulations are in need of change. This legislation will help our brave men and women access the treatment and support they need."
A veteran at the present time who is diagnosed with PTSD must prove that the stressor triggering the PTSD occurred during "combat with the enemy". This means that the service member must prove that the trigger for PTSD occurred during personal participation in a fight with a military adversary or hostile unit force in order to receive care from the Veteran's Health Administration. If the veteran cannot meet this burden of proof, or suffers from PTSD triggered by service in a combat zone but not in direct combat with the enemy, they must pay for their own care out-of-pocket or through private insurance.
A study finds that one in five of our nation's veterans suffer from PTSD and over hald of current Iraq and Afghanistan soldiers have gone without treatment. Schumer said the bill would affect over 150,000 veterans who have yet to be treated for PTSD.
"In addition to the obvious obligations to our veterans, this legislation makes fiscal sense. According to the study, if 50 percent of those needing care for PTSD and depression received treatment and all care was evidence-based, this larger investment in treatment would result in cost savings overall," Schumer stated in his announcement. "If 100 percent of those needing care for PTSD and depression received treatment and all care was evidence-based, there would be even larger cost savings. The cost of depression, PTSD, or co-morbid PTSD and depression could be reduced by as much as $1.7 billion, or $1,063 per returning veteran. These savings come from increases in productivity, as well as from reductions in the expected number of suicides."
Senator Schumer introduced the COMBAT PTSD Act in the Senate on Wednesday. The legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman John Hall. The legislation has been endorsed by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), The American Legion, Veterans for Common Sense (VCS), National Guard Association of the US (NGAUS), National Legal Veterans Services Program (NVLSP), Ex Prisoners of War, and Disabled American Veterans (DAV).
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