Posted on: Friday, June 10, 2005

Mental-health care for new wave of veterans may expand

By Dennis Camire
Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON — Thousands of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan would receive more help to cope with mental-health problems under a slate of bills a Senate committee considered yesterday.

The mental health of returning service members has been a growing concern for the Department of Veterans Affairs and lawmakers.

"Over the years, and out of necessity, VA developed some of the best mental-health care in the world," said Sen. Daniel K. Akaka of Hawai'i, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. "Unfortunately, this care is slipping, and this is occurring at the worst time — when demand for care is about to explode."

VA Secretary James Nicholson told the committee that several provisions in the bills would help the agency care for "those returning from overseas who are suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder and other mental-health disorders."

Of the almost 86,000 people who have left the military and sought VA healthcare, about 24,000 — or almost 28 percent — have been preliminarily diagnosed with mental disorders, according to the agency. That includes almost 12,400 with possible posttraumatic stress disorder.

One bill, sponsored by Akaka, would require VA spending on mental health to keep up with inflation and that at least 90 percent of the VA clinics across the country provide mental-health services.

The bill also would require all VA primary healthcare centers to offer at least five days of inpatient detoxification services for substance abuse and require a case manager to coordinate follow-up services.

Akaka's proposal also would direct the VA and Defense Department to ensure that service members leaving the military get screenings for sexual trauma and mental-health disorders. And it would require the two departments to find ways to combat the stigma associated with mental-health disorders.

"Our focus is simple: to make sure that the VA is doing everything possible to guarantee that each and every veteran who needs mental-health care ... is receiving that care," Akaka said.

Nicholson told the senator that the VA had stepped up its mental-health programs to deal with the influx of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. He said the agency was seeking an additional $100 million in its budget for next year to expand mental-health programs.

For the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, the VA is requesting $179 million for posttraumatic stress disorder treatment, $93 million for readjustment counseling for returning veterans and their families, $365 million for substance-abuse programs and $2.2 billion for serious mental-illness care.

Another bill, sponsored by Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, would add marriage and family therapy to the list of posttraumatic stress disorder treatments.

Craig's bill also calls for spending $95 million to expand mental-health care, including more VA treatment teams for posttraumatic stress disorder and veterans with serious mental illness.