52,375 veterans treated or evaluated for PTSD after Iraq or Afghanistan
Newly released reports show that the Department of Veterans Affairs alone is responsible for that many; only 19,000 have received disability benefits.
July 27, 2007 | Editor's note: Yesterday, a presidential panel recommended an overhaul of the healthcare system for U.S. veterans, highlighting treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder as one of the biggest challenges. Today, new evidence shows just how much the problem is growing.
A nonpublic report from the Department of Veterans Affairs sent to the Government Accountability Office says that 52,375 veterans who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan, and are now home, have been treated or evaluated for PTSD by the department.
The military provides some healthcare for wounded soldiers. Once they are out of the military, that job falls to the VA, the agency also responsible for handing out disability payments, if needed. That 52,375 number represents only patients seen by the VA and excludes an unknown number of soldiers diagnosed as having PTSD by the military. It also excludes another unknown number of soldiers who suffer from PTSD but have not yet been diagnosed by the military or the VA.
The document was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by Veterans for Common Sense. That organization has also obtained a VA document showing that only 19,015 of those 52,375 veterans are receiving disability payments, suggesting a problem getting payments to those who deserve it. Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, says, "This is of great concern to us."
On this page are screen shots of the first two pages of the first report obtained by Veterans for Common Sense; on the next page is a screen shot of the second report, showing that only 19,015 veterans are receiving disability payments. The full reports are available for downloading here and here.
