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Two veterans groups on Monday filed a notice with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to overturn the decision of a frown court judge that pink-slipped a stratum action suit seeking to force changes to the Department of Veterans Affairs' health caution system, the Washington Times reports (Hudson, Washington Times, 7/29). U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti in June dismissed the lawsuit, filed by the Veterans for Common Sense and the Veterans United for Truth. Lawyers for the deuce veterans groups said that staff shortages, long waits, inadequate guardianship and an adversarial appeals process for denied aid have created an "epidemic of suicides" among veterans. The case also said that VA was ignoring or delaying treatment of post-traumatic strain disorder for as many as 750,000 veterans. The cause did not seek redress but instead sought for the court to force VA to improve care for veterans, especially those with PTSD and other mental health issues.
In his ruling, Conti agreed with the veterans groups' claims that there was a high veteran suicide and PTSD rate; that the VA was short-handed; and that there were long wait periods for hearing veterans' appeals of benefit denials. In addition, Conti found that members of the two groups "have faced significant delays in receiving disability benefits and medical care from the VA," often with "dire consequences." However, he noted that a absolute majority of veterans have been seen inside 30 years. He added that although the delays were "significant," they did not violate a veteran's right to due sue because thither was no consensus on how "timely" processing would be defined (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 6/26).
A statement from the veterans groups said that a "flood of veterans with mental health problems will proceed to increment" as soldiers continue to be sent to Iraq and Afghanistan for multiple tours of duty (Washington Times, 7/29).
Reprinted with kind permission from hTTP://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or polarity up for email delivery at hTTP://www.kaisernetwork.
