The Veterans' Administration has changed its policy regarding disability claims for veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorders. After years of complaints from veterans' advocates that the VA's rules were too tough, it will now be possible for veterans to make a claim without having to prove they suffered a specific traumatic event. Some two million soldiers have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since 9/11, and one study says that as many as twenty percent of them may suffer from these psychological wounds of war. Why has the policy change taken so long? How will this change affect the hundreds of thousands of soldiers believed to be struggling with PTSD? What kind of treatment works?
VA Takes More Liberal Stance on PTSD
Credits
Guests:
- Ed O'Keefe - CBS
- Lisa Jaycox - Senior Behavioral Scientist, RAND Corp
- Donna Perdue - Veteran, Marine Corps
- Sally Satel - Psychiatrist and Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
- Ian de Planque - Deputy Director, American Legion’s Veteran Affairs and Rehabilitation Division