thedrifter
12-22-07, 08:50 AM
Supporting the Troops
Congress moves to reform veterans' health care.
The Washington Post
Saturday, December 22, 2007; A16
NOTHING WILL ever be able to absolve this country for the disgraceful way it has treated its returning war wounded. Congress, though, took a big step in making amends with final approval of legislation aimed at fixing and upgrading the military health-care system. Expected enactment of the measure, along with the installation of a new secretary of veterans affairs, are important developments in righting the wrongs against America's soldiers.
The Wounded Warrior Act was incorporated into the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act approved by House and Senate conferees this month. The president is to sign it into law soon. Its provisions -- improvements in health care and benefits and the beginning of disability reform -- are a reaction to the scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. A four-month investigation this year by The Post revealed squalid living conditions, poor outpatient care and a bureaucracy indifferent, even hostile, to the needs of injured service personnel. Perhaps even more appalling was the realization that the problems weren't limited to Walter Reed but extended to veterans facilities across the country.
Among the immediate benefits, combat veterans are guaranteed mental health evaluations within 30 days of their request; the period during which recently separated combat veterans may seek care from the VA has been increased from two years to five years; and caregivers are given an increase in family medical leave. The legislation pays particular attention to the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by expanding treatment of and research on traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Most significant, the measure sets in place an overarching policy that requires the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department to work together -- not at cross-purposes -- on comprehensive reforms. Most of the issues identified by the presidential commission headed by former Senate majority leader Robert J. Dole and former secretary of health and human services Donna E. Shalala were addressed; that reflects the productive partnership between Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Still on the to-do list is the big issue of how to restructure the disability system. No one questions the need for fixes, but how to carry out reform is proving to be a thorny issue, one that requires the continued attention of Congress if it wants to support the troops.
Ellie
Congress moves to reform veterans' health care.
The Washington Post
Saturday, December 22, 2007; A16
NOTHING WILL ever be able to absolve this country for the disgraceful way it has treated its returning war wounded. Congress, though, took a big step in making amends with final approval of legislation aimed at fixing and upgrading the military health-care system. Expected enactment of the measure, along with the installation of a new secretary of veterans affairs, are important developments in righting the wrongs against America's soldiers.
The Wounded Warrior Act was incorporated into the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act approved by House and Senate conferees this month. The president is to sign it into law soon. Its provisions -- improvements in health care and benefits and the beginning of disability reform -- are a reaction to the scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. A four-month investigation this year by The Post revealed squalid living conditions, poor outpatient care and a bureaucracy indifferent, even hostile, to the needs of injured service personnel. Perhaps even more appalling was the realization that the problems weren't limited to Walter Reed but extended to veterans facilities across the country.
Among the immediate benefits, combat veterans are guaranteed mental health evaluations within 30 days of their request; the period during which recently separated combat veterans may seek care from the VA has been increased from two years to five years; and caregivers are given an increase in family medical leave. The legislation pays particular attention to the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by expanding treatment of and research on traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Most significant, the measure sets in place an overarching policy that requires the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department to work together -- not at cross-purposes -- on comprehensive reforms. Most of the issues identified by the presidential commission headed by former Senate majority leader Robert J. Dole and former secretary of health and human services Donna E. Shalala were addressed; that reflects the productive partnership between Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Still on the to-do list is the big issue of how to restructure the disability system. No one questions the need for fixes, but how to carry out reform is proving to be a thorny issue, one that requires the continued attention of Congress if it wants to support the troops.
Ellie