President Obama made the announcement on Saturday. Veterans with PTSD will no longer have to prove that some specific incident — a bomb blast, for instance — caused their condition. They will only have to show that the conditions where they served were sufficient to cause the post-traumatic stress.
“This is very welcome news for our service men and women who continue to endure the effects of war long after they have returned home,” Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan said.
“We must never forget what we owe to those who have served in our nation’s armed forces.”
Post-traumatic stress is a medically recognized anxiety disorder. It can develop from seeing or experiencing an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury to which a person responds with intense fear, helplessness or horror. PTSD is not uncommon among veterans returning from war zones.
In the past, veterans had to show evidence that they had seen or experienced a particular specific event that triggered their PTSD, if they wanted to file a claim for benefits. Under the Department of Veterans Affairs’ new rule, effective July 13, veterans will no longer have to prove they experienced a stressor related to hostile military or terrorist activity. Instead, a VA psychiatrist or psychologist will be able to confirm that the veteran’s war zone experience supports a diagnosis of PTSD diagnosis.
It is estimated that nearly 20 percent of returning veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress or from depression as a result of their experience.
“The rule acknowledges that just because the wounds were not physical, does not mean the soldier or sailor has not suffered,” said Kilili. “By easing the standard of proof, our veterans will get the care and treatment they need.”
The new rules apply not only to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but also to those who served in previous conflicts.
The rule applies to claims for service-connected PTSD filed with the VA on or after July 13, 2010. It also applies to claims received prior to July 13 that have not been decided upon as of that date or that have been remanded by the Veterans Court for readjudication. Appeals filed with the Board of Veterans Appeals, including those that have not been decided by the effective date of the rule, are also affected.
In his remarks on Saturday President Obama outlined his Administration’s efforts to increase veteran services – increasing the VA’s budget, expanding and increasing VA health care, and working to prevent and end veteran homelessness.
“I support the president goals for veterans,” Sablan said. “And I will work with my colleagues in Congress to gain the necessary funding for these initiatives.
“For our veterans and their families, their sacrifice did not end when they left the war zone — neither should our commitment to them.”
