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UPDATE: PRESIDENT BUSH ORDERS IMPLEMENTATION
OF TASK FORCE PLAN -- VA Secretary Nicholson
must report on progress in 45 days.
Background here...
http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfAPR07/nf042507-1.htm
Story here...
http://www.alertnet.org/
thenews/newsdesk/N24200076.htm
Story below:
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Bush orders veterans health action plan implemented
Source: Reuters
By Todd Eastham
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Tuesday
he was ordering implementation of a government-wide "action plan" to
improve health care and related services for U.S. troops and returning
veterans.
The plan was developed by Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson and
members of the Interagency Task Force on Returning Global War on Terror
Heroes, Bush said in a statement released late on Tuesday by the White
House.
"The brave men and women who have volunteered to protect and defend our
country deserve to receive the highest level of support from our
grateful nation," the statement said.
"The Task Force has proposed specific recommendations to immediately
begin addressing the problems and gaps in services that were identified
across the veterans and military healthcare systems.
"These recommendations include directing the Department of Defense and
the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a joint process for
disability determination."
Disability determinations are used to establish levels of disability for
retirement and Veterans Affairs compensation.
"I commend the work of the Task Force, welcome its recommendations, and
have directed Secretary Nicholson to work with all agencies involved ...
and to report back to me within 45 days on how these measures are being
implemented."
In March, President Bush apologized to wounded U.S. troops who endured
dilapidated conditions and bureaucratic delays at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center, the flagship military hospital in Washington. The Army's
top civilian leader and other officials were ousted over the
revelations.
There have also been questions about military mental health care. The
General Accountability Office reported last year that just 22 percent of
U.S. troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who showed signs of Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder were referred by the Pentagon for mental
health evaluations.
Nine U.S. senators asked the GAO this month to look into how the Defense
Department treats troops returning from Iraq or Afghanistan with mental
health problems.
"We have ... heard of cases in which service members with PTSD are
diagnosed as having 'personality disorders' that the Army considers
'pre-existing,' thus depriving otherwise eligible combat veterans of
disability benefits and much-needed mental health care," the Senators
wrote in the GAO request.
(Additional reporting by Will Dunham)
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Larry Scott --
