On Monday, the federal government and the nation marked Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Day. In a statement noting the occasion, Health And Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said: “We have a responsibility to help Americans who have lived through trauma, especially our nation’s service men and women who may be dealing with PTSD. We owe them the care and resources they need to get well.”
But one veteran says he is still waiting for a benefits determination from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), almost a year after applying – and he is not alone in his wait.
In a Narrative Matters essay in the July 2010 issue of Health Affairs, Ron Capps detailed his struggles with PTSD resulting from his service as a soldier and Foreign Service officer in multiple venues. Capps noted the huge unmet need for PTSD treatment among active soldiers and veterans, and he explained the barriers that prevent so many PTSD sufferers from seeking treatment.
Capps himself finally did seek treatment and has received care from the Veterans Health Administration. However, as he explains on Time magazine’s Battleland Blog, the VA has yet to review his application for benefits related to his PTSD:
Its been over ten months since I filed my application with the Veterans Administration for benefits related to a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Thats three hundred or so days waiting to find out if one part of the VA – the Veterans Benefits Administration – agrees with another part of the VA – the Veterans Health Administration – that I need and deserve help….
Im one of over three-quarters of a million veterans who have been waiting for over four months to be screened for benefits. While were waiting out here in limboland we dont receive financial support or disabled veterans preference in our job hunt. Nonetheless, and I greatly appreciate this fact, we are entitled to medical care, which is easy to get as long as were near a VA clinic. Why does one part of the VA seem to work well and another seem broken?
In his Battleland post, Capps offers some answers to that question. He also promises regular updates there on his experience as a way of documenting process facing veterans, so stay tuned.
You can read Capps’ full Narrative Matters essay in Health Affairs. Here, you can also listen to Capps read his full essay, or listen to him read a shortened version of the piece on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” You can also listen to Capps read his essay through ITunes U.
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