Study: Number of wounded veterans could cripple VA
By O’Ryan Johnson
Sunday, January 7, 2007 - Updated: 11:15 AM EST
http://news.bostonherald.com/national/view.bg?articleid=175762&srvc=news
The Veterans Administration is in danger of collapsing under the burden of
caring for the medical and psychological needs of returning U.S. forces from
Iraq and Afghanistan if it does not receive a huge infusion of cash, a new
Harvard study warns.
According to the report, the VA is already overwhelmed by the 200,000 veterans
who have returned, and the agency will need between $350 billion and $700
billion more, reforms to its claim process, more staff and a sharper focus on
mental-health issues if the agency is to care for those among the 1.4 million
war veterans who may need treatment.
Congressman Martin D. Meehan (D-Lowell) agreed with the findings.
“When the history of the Iraq War is written, one of the great scandals may be
the inability of the VA to care for veterans returning from combat,” said
Meehan, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee.
“The strain on the VA is enormous,” Meehan added. “They did a study to see
whether they’re equipped to care for the veterans from Iraq and they came to the
conclusion that they’re no where near prepared to deal with these veterans.”
But VA spokesman Matt Burns sharply criticized the study, telling United Press
International the findings are “misleading” and insisting that the report’s
recommendations are already under way.
The study was published by Linda Bilmes, a lecturer in public policy at
Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a former Clinton administration
official.
Meehan points out that one of the bright points in the study is that the U.S.
military is doing a better job of keeping troops alive. Bilmes calculates that
there are 16 wounded troops for every dead serviceman, which she said is a
higher rate than previous wars.
“There has been enormous progress made in terms of protecting soldiers and
Marines,” Meehan said. “There are fewer dying. However the extremities are more
difficult to protect. That’s why you see so many people injured coming back
without arms and legs. Traditionally they would have come home in a coffin.”