House considers big changes for vet treatment - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

House considers big changes for vet treatment

Two novel ideas for improving treatment of wounded combat veterans were unveiled Thursday in the House of Representatives.

Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., introduced a bill that would make some combat veterans automatically eligible for temporary disability benefits. Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who have been diagnosed by the military as having disabilities rated at 10 percent or more, or who have been diagnosed by any doctor as having post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury, would immediately qualify for disability pay as if they had received a 30 percent disability rating through the formal Department of Veterans Affairs ratings process.

Under the bill, HR 4219, if a veteran ends up receiving a higher disability rating after the VA completes its process, they would receive a backdated payment for the difference. If the veteran ends up with a disability rated at less than 30 percent, they would not have to pay anything.

Donnelly is calling his bill the Immediate Benefits for Wounded Warriors Act, and is starting to look for cosponsors. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., already has signed on as an original cosponsor.

Donnelly, a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, has sponsored other legislation aimed at speeding the veterans’ claims process. In this case, the bill focuses on veterans who have been diagnosed with service-connected disabilities, just not through the formal VA process, which can take six to seven months for an uncompleted original claim.

A second bill sponsored by Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Wis., would allow Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who live 30 miles or more from a veterans’ hospital or center to use vouchers to receive mental health services from private providers.

Kagen, a medical doctor, is pushing for the vouchers out of concern that some combat veterans in rural areas are not getting needed help.

“Post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues are very real and common problems for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans,” Kagen said. “Many of my patients are veterans who live a great distance from VA facilities, making it difficult for them to receive the expert care they require.”

The bill “will ease their travel burdens and increase compliance with necessary treatments by allowing them to access medical services and treatments from mental health experts closer to home,” he said.

Kagen’s bill, HR 4231, has 32 cosponsors, including Donnelly and Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman.