Wednesday
Feb272008
Senate Committee review on Veteran's Disability Compensation
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 11:59AM
At the United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs review of Veteran's Disability Compensation: Expert Work on PTSD and Other Issues, the purpose of the hearing was to hear recommendations on how the VA Disability system can be improved, since the current system is outdated, burdensome, and fails to address many issues.
Ranking Member Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) said that under his bill, the Veterans Mental Health Treatment First Act, there would be a wellness stipend while the veterans were waiting for treatment, and all the veteran would have to do is hold off on the rating claims. This emphasizes wellness as opposed to claiming disability. The current system, he said, does not keep pace with society and understanding disabilities. The rating schedules have not been updated in six decades, and promoting rehabilitation is a main goal, since there are young men and women returning from war that cannot return to work. Returning to the workforce, Burr said, should be the main goal of the VA, and this may require a large upfront cost.
Dr. Joyce McMahon, PhD, Managing Director, Center for Health Research and Policy, said survey results suggest that the relationship between compensation and medical treatment for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) showed through a series of indirect questions virtually no evidence for veterans to avoid treatment from fear of losing their benefits. In respect to evaluating the quality of life for veterans, they also did surveys of veterans and found that the degree of disability was in decline. With primary mental disabilities, they found there to be low physical quality of life as well.
Dr. Dean G. Kilpatrick, PhD, Director, National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina, said testimony showed that doctors were limited in their ability to take a lengthy exam of persons diagnosed with PTSD, and therefore were not able to have a thorough evaluation. Currently, Kilpatrick said, the same sets of criteria are used to evaluate all sorts of mental disorders, and that means that the criteria are crude and outdated. The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) used by mental health professionals needs to be utilized.
The research team concluded that it is not appropriate to have an "across the board" evaluation of veterans with PTSD but should be done on a case by case basis. The evaluations should be timely, and there is no justification to single out and stigmatize veterans with PTSD by reevaluating them every two to three years. One of the disadvantages to reevaluation is cost, and if it was decided to do regular reevaluations, it should not be done until the resources are available to do a more thorough evaluation.
In response to a question, Kilpatrick said there is lore out there that veterans that get compensation have no incentive to seek treatment because there is no reason to get better. Research showed, he said, that some veterans may seek treatment because at a higher level of disability, they get better options for treatment.
Ranking Member Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) said that under his bill, the Veterans Mental Health Treatment First Act, there would be a wellness stipend while the veterans were waiting for treatment, and all the veteran would have to do is hold off on the rating claims. This emphasizes wellness as opposed to claiming disability. The current system, he said, does not keep pace with society and understanding disabilities. The rating schedules have not been updated in six decades, and promoting rehabilitation is a main goal, since there are young men and women returning from war that cannot return to work. Returning to the workforce, Burr said, should be the main goal of the VA, and this may require a large upfront cost.
Dr. Joyce McMahon, PhD, Managing Director, Center for Health Research and Policy, said survey results suggest that the relationship between compensation and medical treatment for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) showed through a series of indirect questions virtually no evidence for veterans to avoid treatment from fear of losing their benefits. In respect to evaluating the quality of life for veterans, they also did surveys of veterans and found that the degree of disability was in decline. With primary mental disabilities, they found there to be low physical quality of life as well.
Dr. Dean G. Kilpatrick, PhD, Director, National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina, said testimony showed that doctors were limited in their ability to take a lengthy exam of persons diagnosed with PTSD, and therefore were not able to have a thorough evaluation. Currently, Kilpatrick said, the same sets of criteria are used to evaluate all sorts of mental disorders, and that means that the criteria are crude and outdated. The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) used by mental health professionals needs to be utilized.
The research team concluded that it is not appropriate to have an "across the board" evaluation of veterans with PTSD but should be done on a case by case basis. The evaluations should be timely, and there is no justification to single out and stigmatize veterans with PTSD by reevaluating them every two to three years. One of the disadvantages to reevaluation is cost, and if it was decided to do regular reevaluations, it should not be done until the resources are available to do a more thorough evaluation.
In response to a question, Kilpatrick said there is lore out there that veterans that get compensation have no incentive to seek treatment because there is no reason to get better. Research showed, he said, that some veterans may seek treatment because at a higher level of disability, they get better options for treatment.
Reader Comments (2)
Satel has been pushing this nonsense for years. She doesn't thik much of PTSD and doesn't think much of veterans who have it.
This proposed legislation should be dumped. The Senator would better spend his time trying to get legislation that actually responds to recommendations OUT of committee and before the Congress. And the money that would go to fund this useless piece of feel-good-does-nothing legislation would be better spent making mental helath care more accessible to veterans, or paying back the poor veterans who have had to REPAY the military branches for their medical severance payments or to pay for continued health insurance for medically discharged veterans.
http://somesoldiersmom.blogspot.com/2008/02/pure-crap-veterans-mental-health.html
I AM IN WTU IN FT KNOX KY. I AM GETTING DISCHARGED WITH 10% DISABILATY AND I HAVE PTSD. I AM RECIEVING DISABILITY SEVERANCE PAY AND I AM PISSED , NONE OTHER THAN I AM GETTING KICKED OUT AND NOT GETTING A VA CHECK TILL I PAY THE MONEY BACK. SO I HAVE GOT TO WAIT TILL I PAY THE MONEY BACK TO VA TO GET ANY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO HELP. WITH MONTHLY BILLS ,, I THINK THAT THE MONEY I AM GETTING FROM THE ARMY IS WHAT I DISERVE FOR MY INJURIES THAT OCCURED ON ACTIVE DUTY AND NOW I GOTTO PAY IT BACK FOR WHAT. BECAUSE VA NEEDS FUNDING. THAT MONEY IS MINE WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY IT BACK BEFORE I GET MY VA CHECK. DO THEY NOT UNDERSTAND THAT SOMEONE LIKE ME IT IS GOING TO BE REALLY HARD FOR ME TO GET A JOB , IT IS HARD FOR ME TO BE IN BIG CROWDS AND AROUND PEOPLE I DONT KNOW. SO GETTING A EVERYDAY JOB AT THE LOCAL WALMART AND GROCERY STORE IS OUT. SOMEONE NEEDS TO SERIOUSELY DO SOMETHING BEFORE ALL OF THE GUYS THAT HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED WITH IT COME BACK TO HAUNT THEM.