Durbin Convenes Forum to Discuss Quality of Care for Iraq-Afghanistan Veterans

Press Release

DURBIN CONVENES FORUM TO DISCUSS QUALITY OF CARE FOR IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN VETERANS

Monday, March 12, 2007

[CHICAGO, IL] - "It is a tragedy that even one veteran who risked his or her life for our country would return home to seek treatment at a Defense Department outpatient facility that wouldn't pass muster with a local code enforcement official; find a difficult, demoralizing process transitioning from Defense Department to Veterans Administration system care; and encounter delays and uncertainties in securing veterans benefits," said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). "In the wake of the Walter Reed scandal," Durbin said, "it is clear far more veterans than previously acknowledged are facing these problems. More needs to be done to provide the treatment and benefits these veterans need to make the transition from active military to civilian life as smooth as possible."

Durbin said, in the coming weeks, he intends to introduce legislation to improve the way this country responds to the many veterans who sustained brain injury during combat. In Vietnam and previous 20th Century wars, brain injuries accounted for 12% of injuries. In Iraq and Afghanistan, brain injuries account for 22% of injuries.

Approximately, 1.6 million Iraq/Afghanistan vets have completed their service and are entering the VA system. That means 320,000 returning troops are likely to require some sort of screening and/or treatment for traumatic brain injury - a number that grows with every new soldier, sailor, marine, and airman deployed.

Durbin also announced he has co-sponsored the Dignity for Wounded Soldiers Act of 2007, legislation introduced by Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), that would cut red tape, improve facilities, and increase oversight at our nation's military hospitals.

"There's a big disconnect when the very men and women who have answered the country's call to service find the Defense Department medical system is riddled with problems; the transition from DOD to the VA is unpredictable, slow and difficult; and the Department of Veterans Affairs isn't keeping up with the demand for medical care, support services or the benefits that were promised."

Estimates on the prevalence of PTSD in returning Iraqi and Afghan veterans range from 15 to 30 percent. The wide range in estimates shows the difficulty in diagnosing PTSD and the complicated road ahead for VA treatment centers. A new study to be release later today by the Archives of Internal Medicine says the high end of that estimate is accurate. The study reports that one-third of veterans coming back from the war who seek care at the VA have mental health / social issues such as PTSD and severe depression.

Injured troops come home to find, in too many cases, substandard outpatient care and a big fight on their hands to justify the need for ongoing care. High rates of PTSD and brain injury complicate the VA's task.

The VA Compensation and Pension Claims division reports a backlog of over 625,000 cases. The average wait to process an original claim is 177 days. It takes 657 days to process an appeal. "I'm not convinced our medical and benefits systems are keeping pace with the realities of this war and that needs to change," said Durbin.

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