Department of Veterans Affairs Lowers Bar on Military PTSD Benefits

President Obama announces that the Department of Veterans Affairs, led by Secretary Shinseki, will begin making it easier for Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to receive the benefits and treatment they need.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it will make it easier for Vets to get the help they need if they suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), hailed by President Obama as a “long overdue step” but one that “proves America will always be here for our veterans, just as they've been there for us.”

According to the VA, it expects this rulemaking to decrease the time it takes the VA to decide access to care and claims falling under the revised criteria.

“Just as we have a solemn responsibility to train and equip our troops before we send them into harm’s way, we have a solemn responsibility to provide our veterans and wounded warriors with the care and benefits they’ve earned when they come home,” said President Obama in his weekly radio/Internet address on Saturday, July 11, ahead of the announcement from the Department of Veterans Affairs. “That is our sacred trust with all who serve – and it doesn’t end when their tour of duty does.”

"I don't think our troops on the battlefield should have to take notes to keep for a claims application," Obama said. "And I've met enough veterans to know that you don't have to engage in a firefight to endure the trauma of war."

Under the new rule, the VA would not require corroboration of a stressor related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity if a VA doctor confirms that the stressful experience recalled by a Veteran adequately supports a diagnosis of PTSD and the Veteran’s symptoms are related to the claimed stressor. Past benefit rules required a stressor related to hostile military activity.

“This nation has a solemn obligation to the men and women who have honorably served this country and suffer from the often devastating emotional wounds of war,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “This final regulation goes a long way to ensure that Veterans receive the benefits and services they need.”

According to the New York Times, the estimated cost for this necessary benefit upgrade amounts to a $5 billion program over several years to help treat what has become the signature injury of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and one that has afflicted countless warriors from the past. The VA says more than 400,000 Veterans are currently receiving compensation benefits that are service connected for PTSD.

A study last year by the Rand Corp. think tank estimated that nearly 20 percent of returning veterans, or 300,000, have symptoms of PTSD or major depression. Separately, the Navy Times quotes a Department of Veterans Affairs fact sheet on PTSD says that says 129,654 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have received a provisional diagnosis of PTSD from VA since the fall of 2001.

“Much like the rewrite of the GI Bill last summer, we believe this is a landmark decision,” said Veterans Advantage founder and CEO Scott Higgins, a Vietnam Veteran. “The new rules should allow those suffering from PTSD to get the treatment they deserve and get it as quickly as possible.”

How to Get These Benefits

• Go to www.va.gov or call the Department of Veterans Affairs, for toll free benefits information at 1-800-827-1000.
• For additional breaking news and information, go to the Veterans Advantage Military and PTSD Transition Center, available to Veterans Advantage members for the length of their membership.