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Shinseki to defend new Agent Orange rules
By Leo Shane III
Published: August 25, 2010
AP
Veterans groups praised the Department of Veterans Affairs last year when officials announced they would add three new diseases to the list of "presumptive illnesses" connected to the use of the Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange. But senators concerned about the cost and precedent of such a change put a 60-day hold on money related to the change, and have asked the VA for more information on why Agent Orange claims should be expanded.
On Tuesday, in a speech before the Veterans of Foreign Wars, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said he's happy to defend the decision. "It was the right decision, and the President and I are proud to finally provide this group of Veterans the care and benefits they have long deserved."
The rules regarding the new recognized illnesses -- Parkinson’s Disease, Hairy Cell and other types of chronic, b-cell leukemia, and Ischemic Heart Disease — could open up veterans benefits to 250,000 more Vietnam-era veterans and cost the VA another $13.4 billion over the next 18 months.
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., has publicly questioned whether scientific research supports including the three new diseases with other Agent Orange exposure conditions, and if the VA is unnecessarily committing billions in compensation payments for problems that are often simply the result of aging.
But Shinseki said he's "happy" to explain the rationale behind the move, and confident lawmakers will support the change. The hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee is set for Sept. 23.
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VA Hopes New Prosthetic Knee Will Improve Disabled Vets' Lives
John Loosen has worn a prosthetic leg long enough — four decades — that it is second nature. But there are still simple movements that are struggles against gravity: walking down hills or up stairs, stepping backward or over obstacles, swinging a golf club.
Drew Angerer/The New York Times
John Loosen walked with his new prosthesis at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
But this week Mr. Loosen got a new device that he, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Pentagon hope will make a major difference for not just hundreds of service members wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan, but also thousands of older veterans who have lost legs to combat or diseases like diabetes.
The device, known as the X2, is a prosthetic knee loaded with microprocessors, sensors and even a gyroscope that gives amputees more freedom of movement, and better balance, than previous prostheses, veterans affairs officials say. It is smaller, lighter and has a longer-lasting battery (up to four days) than other widely used prostheses.
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VA’s New PTSD Rules Praised
Congressman Collin Peterson, D-Minnesota, praised the Veterans Administration’s new plan to improve care for veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The new rules will make it easier for veterans – including those who may have been denied benefits in the past – to receive the care and benefits they deserve, Peterson said.
“These new rules are an important step forward in ensuring that we do all we can to support our returning soldiers,” said Peterson. “For too long, soldiers suffering from PTSD have gone without the care they need. We need to keep the promises we make to our veterans.”
Previously, veterans had to undergo lengthy investigations in order to apply for disability benefits for PTSD.
The VA required extensive documentation of the specific cause of the disorder in addition to a doctor’s diagnosis, and ultimately denied benefits to thousands of veterans who were unable to document their experiences.
The new reforms will simplify the process, requiring a VA doctor’s diagnosis for veterans who served in a combat zone.
“Nearly one in five veterans suffer from PTSD or major depression, and many veterans in Minnesota’s 7th District have been suffering without the care they need and have earned,” said Peterson. “Finally, veterans of both current and past wars will receive the VA health care and disability compensation they deserve.”
and receive information on the most current veterans’ benefits.
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VA Provides X2 Prosthetic Leg To Vietnam-Era Vet
WASHINGTON — Vietnam veteran John Loosen has been walking with a prosthetic leg for nearly 40 years, but this week was the first time he could step backward or comfortably shift weight from side to side.
“Just wearing this leg for a few hours, I can already tell this is going to be better for me,” said the 61-year-old Army veteran who was wounded during a mortar attack in 1968. “Before, just standing, I’d always put my weight on my right side. But now I can feel this [prosthetic] leg responding more. I’ve got more confidence in it.”
Loosen’s new leg is an X2 prosthesis system, a microprosessor-controlled device that can react to subtle changes in terrain or the wearer’s gait. The technology has been available to wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan for years, but Loosen is the first Vietnam-era veteran to receive one through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
VA officials said they hope to give out between 10 and 20 of the X2 legs per month to older amputees through a program launched this month.
Dr. Joseph Miller, national director for prosthetic and orthotic services for the VA, said about 46,000 amputees are in the veterans health system now, some injured in combat but many others who’ve lost a limb to disease or diabetes.
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PTSD Soldiers Misdiagnosed: Army Said They Had Personality Disorders
By Aina Hunter (CBS News Health)
Did the U.S. Army unfairly get rid of soldiers who fought in the Iraq war after diagnosing them with a psychological condition they didn't actually have?
An April investigative feature in "The Nation" suggests that it did. It alleges that the US Army routinely fired hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder, when they were more likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Unlike PTSD, which the Army regards as a treatable mental disability caused by the acute stresses of war, the military designation of a personality disorder can have devastating consequences for soldiers.
Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army eventually acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits.
"We really have an obligation to go back and make sure troops weren't misdiagnosed," said Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a clinical psychologist whose nonprofit "Give an Hour" connects troops with volunteer mental health professionals.
Defined as a "deeply ingrained maladaptive pattern of behavior," a personality disorder is considered a "pre-existing condition" that relieves the military of its duty to pay for the person's health care or combat-related disability pay.
According to figures provided by the Army, the service discharged about a 1,000 soldiers a year between 2005 and 2007 for having a personality disorder.
That number has since dropped significantly, but now the number of post-traumatic stress disorder cases has soared. By 2008, more than 14,000 soldiers had been diagnosed with PTSD -- twice as many as two years before.
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