VA Looks To Speed Up PTSD Help For Soldiers

By Josh Simeone J.Simeone@krdo.com

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COLORADO SPRINGS – As thousands of Ft. Carson Soldiers return from serving in Iraq, the Department of Veterans Affairs is is looking at ways to provide soldiers with the help they need, faster.

The V.A. sees more than 80,000 claims for disabilities every month, with thousands of those claims coming from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans filing claims for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Currently, veterans filing for PTSD claims have to provide documented evidence of a combat situation that may have triggered the disorder. Those soldiers who are considered “non-combat” soldiers must also “corroborate” a situation that would have caused the PTSD.

A new proposal would basically changes those requirements, making it easier for “non-combat” soldiers to file a claim for PTSD. Under the new proposal, the VA would not require evidence for “non-combat” soldiers if a VA psychiatrist of psychologist were to confirm that an experience, as opposed to an actual event, caused PTSD.

“The hidden wounds of war are being addressed vigorously and comprehensively by this administration as we move VA forward in its transformation of the 21st century,” Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Erik K. Shinseki said in a news release.

Recent studies show more-and-more soldiers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan are reporting symptoms of PTSD upon returning home. The VA teamed with the University of California, San Francisco in one study that showed 22% of soldiers who were treated by the VA between April 2002 and March 2008 had symptoms of PTSD.

Read the VA Proposal for yourself by clicking here.