After our May broadcast, the VA announced it would investigate the disability claims of 72,000 veterans diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from 1999 and 2004, asking them to provide documented proof of their condition. The review comes after an audit by the VA’s Inspector General found that 1 in 4 cases of VA-approved claims for PTSD lacked adequate documentation to prove eligibility.

In the report from Copley News Service (September 19, 2005), a VA spokesman stated, “The last thing we want to do is take away benefits,” promising that the investigation is only a “paper exercise.”

But Ron Nesler, a Vietnam veteran with PTSD, got a different message from the VA. In August 2005, he received a letter from the VA telling him to send evidence of the incident that caused his condition in no later than 60 days… “Otherwise, benefits, if confirmed entitlement is not established, may result in a change in your disability compensation benefits.” (The quoted sentence was printed in bold, underlined type.)

Whether or not the investigation would change veterans’ disability payments, veterans groups are concerned that forcing PTSD patients to revisit old memories will only further traumatize their condition. Mr. Nesler was clearly concerned with the review, telling NOW after describing the situation, “There are more things I would like to tell but I am so sick and nervous that this is all I can write.” Nesler’s doctor, in a letter to the VA, wrote: “…I am absolutely convinced that Mr. Nesler can not endure another 2 year process such as the one that he went through when his disability was first approved.

After only three days he is already feeling overwhelmed by recurrent anxiety, depression and flashbacks just at the prospect of having to wait two years for the VA to review his current disability status and render a new decision,” saying that a review of his disability “…will have severe consequences for him both medically and psychiatrically.”

In a Congressional hearing on October 20, Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM) said that a veteran from his district committed suicide after hearing plans for the review. Udall says he was found with information regarding the review beside his Purple Heart ("VA under fire for plan to review all post-traumatic stress disorder claims", STARS AND STRIPES, 10/21/05 ).

In addition, critics worry that the investigation will discourage vets from seeking mental health care in the first place because they could be subject to VA scrutiny. And some are questioning why the investigation will not review disability claims that were not granted, and wonder if the VA’s main motivation is to save money.

In fact, a June 2005 study funded by the VA reveals that many soldiers with PTSD are slipping through the cracks. The Medical University of South Carolina, analyzing four southern VA hospitals, found that the clinics had recognized less than half (46.5%) of the PTSD cases identified by the university’s own researchers.

On September 22, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) inserted language into a VA appropriations bill blocking the VA’s investigation of PTSD cases. The measure passed the Senate, but is still awaits approval from the House and President Bush.