The government’s new rule regarding disability benefits for veterans for post-traumatic stress disorder are an improvement but still don’t go far enough, according to veterans’ groups.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/us/13vets.html?scp=1&sq=veterans%20and%20mental%20health&st=cse
The new regulation says that veterans no longer have to document a specfice event, like a particular bomb blast, as the cause of them developing PTSD. Such evidence is often hard, if not impossible, to track down, according to The New York Times.
President Obama even referenced the new regulation on his radio show this weekend, saying, “I don’t think our troops on the battlefield should have to take notes to keep for a claims application.”
While veterans groups were happy about the change in the rule, they still voiced criticism about it. They are concerned about a clause that says the final say on whether a vet’s PTSD is a result of their military service can only be made by a doctor or psychologist that works for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The veterans believe that private doctors should be allowed to make that determination, too. Such physicians have often been treating a vet and are familiary with his or her issues and background, the veterans groups argue.
The veterans affairs department argues that there will be more consistency in the exams if they are done by doctors working for the government, and that these physicians will be ablet to pick out “malingerers.”
Groups such as the National Organization of Veterans Advocates fear that government doctors will reject legitimate PTSD claims from veterans.
The veteran affairs department held a press conference on the new regulation regarding PTSD and disability payments on Monday. http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1922
Officials denied that government doctors would be less likely to find that a veteran’s PTSD was due to their military service.
