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UPDATE: SOLDIERS TRAPPED IN LIMBO BETWEEN
MILITARY
AND VETERAN STATUS -- Prof. Linda Bilmes
proposes
more changes to improve the system.
Prof. Linda Bilmes
Background on Prof. Linda Bilmes here...
http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAR07/nf031407-3.htm
Story here...
http://www.boston.com/news/
globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/20
07/03/21/soldiers_trapped_in_limbo/
Story below:
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Soldiers trapped in limbo
By Linda Bilmes, Globe Columnist
ON THE fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, one of the lasting
images for Americans remains the squalid conditions at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center. Who can forget the pictures of soldiers recently
returned from the battle, trying to recover from horrific wounds while
forced to keep fighting against dirt, mold, and bureaucracy?
The seeds of the Walter Reed scandal were sown in weak leadership, heavy
reliance on outside contractors, and a failure to foresee the sheer
number and severity of casualties. But the real culprit lies in a lack
of trust between the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
When a soldier is injured, the military decides whether he or she is fit
to return to duty. If not, a second level of evaluation determines just
how unfit he is. Soldiers awaiting this second level evaluation --
including those at the Walter Reed outpatient clinic and scores of other
military bases -- are often trapped in limbo between military and
veteran status.
Of the 1.4 million of service members deployed to the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars, about 53,000 were officially listed as wounded or
injured. Tens of thousands of others suffer from less visible wounds,
such as traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and
debilitating chronic pain.
The military does not have enough healthcare practitioners to evaluate
all soldiers before discharge. Some simply stay in the military, knowing
that if they leave, they lose valuable housing and healthcare benefits,
especially for their families. Others go to a VA hospital for an
evaluation, either because they gave up waiting or they aren't satisfied
with the military evaluation and hope the VA will do better. As a
consequence, the transition from active duty to veteran status becomes a
quagmire instead of the seamless process desired by both departments.
This bureaucratic turf war extends beyond the wounded. More than 200,000
war veterans have already been treated at VA hospitals and clinics. But
a penchant for privacy and outdated information technology means the
Defense Department is unwilling and in some cases unable to provide
medical records to the VA and thus to provide a continuity of care. Even
when the VA gets the records, it often insists on repeating all the
medical procedures and diagnostic tests before disability status can be
granted. Many veterans travel 90 miles or more to reach the nearest VA
medical facility. Even veterans already in a wheelchair must endure this
prolonged, costly, and redundant process.
Soldiers injured in theatre are supposedly able to apply for disability
benefits before they are discharged. But to take advantage of the
program a soldier must know when he is going to be discharged.
Unfortunately, much of the force doesn't know when it will be discharged
because of repeated deployments and "stop-loss" orders. Furthermore,
National Guard and Reserve soldiers are excluded from the pre-discharge
program.
The bureaucratic fumbling between the Department of Defense and the
Department of Veterans Affairs also diverts the VA's stretched medical
resources into claims processing and away from providing prompt, needed
treatment.
Here are some simple lessons from the Walter Reed scandal that will
improve the lot of the 900,000 servicemen who are still deployed into
the Iraq and Afghanistan wars:
First, the military should be required to give everyone a medical exam
before discharge, and the Department of Defense should promptly transfer
all records to the VA to expedite delivery of medical care and
disability benefits.
Second, Veterans Affairs must hire thousands of additional mental health
professionals and triage nurses, and double the number of local
"veterans centers," which offer readjustment counseling in convenient
neighborhood locations.
Third, the departments must work together to make the successful
"Disability Benefits at Discharge" program into a workable option for
all war veterans. This means sending more benefits experts to military
bases, and expanding the program to include Reservists and National
Guards.
Finally, the lack of planning that has characterized the war has led to
overcrowded veteran facilities, waiting lists, and a backlog of pending
disability claims. Needs of returning troops must be immediately
analyzed and plans made for their return.
It may be too late to secure the peace and democracy in Iraq this war
was supposed to achieve. But it is not too late to make sure the
government provides decent welfare to the troops who have borne the
burden of combat.
Linda Bilmes, an assistant secretary of Commerce in the Clinton
administration, teaches public finance at the Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University. Her recent paper, "Soldiers Returning
from Iraq and Afghanistan: The Long-term Costs of Providing Veterans
Medical Care and Disability Benefits," is available at
www.ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/
Research/wpaper.nsf/RWP/RWP07-001.
---------------
Larry Scott --
