Our Health Policy Matters

As Congress lurches today toward what at best will be another short-term “solution” to the debt ceiling and government shutdown debacle, there is a reason to believe that it will never effectively tackle entitlements.  What we need and what we want are two different things.  And this inept Congress – which in the eleventh hour of its most recent manufactured crisis is still posturing over Obamacare – has no idea how to balance the two.  Source: US House Website We need our entitlements – that’s why they exist.  But we also don’t want to pay for them. Take the Affordable Care Act – in the crosshairs of so many politicians – as an example.  Next to no one wants it all repealed.  Coverage for pre-existing conditions, a guarantee that insurance won’t be cancelled even after an illness hits, and tax credits to lower the cost of health insurance are all needed and immensely popular. But these things cost money.  When Congress passed the ...

As Congress lurches today toward what at best will be another short-term “solution” to the debt ceiling and government shutdown debacle, there is a reason to believe that it will never effectively tackle entitlements.  What we need and what we want are two different things.  And this inept Congress – which in the eleventh hour of its most recent manufactured crisis is still posturing over Obamacare – has no idea how to balance the two.  Source: US House Website We need our entitlements – that’s why they exist.  But we also don’t want to pay for them. Take the Affordable Care Act – in the crosshairs of so many politicians – as an example.  Next to no one wants it all repealed.  Coverage for pre-existing conditions, a guarantee that insurance won’t be cancelled even after an illness hits, and tax credits to lower the cost of health insurance are all needed and immensely popular. But these things cost money.  When Congress passed the ...

Fifty-four percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who have sought treatment in the VA system since 2001 have been treated for mental disorders. This is the second most-frequent diagnosis among these veterans.  It is an indicator of the profound effect recent war service is having on the mental health and well-being of our veterans. The data come from a March, 2013, report entitled Analysis of VA Healthcare Utilization Among Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation New Dawn (OND) Veterans .   Here are some numbers that reflect how extensive the use of VA services has been during the last decade. As of the end of 2012, 2.5 million troops had served since the beginning of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  Just over 1.6 million had become eligible for VA healthcare.  Of that group, almost 900,000 had used VA healthcare services by the end of 2012. These 900,000 veterans most often sought treatment in VA cen...

Fifty-four percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who have sought treatment in the VA system since 2001 have been treated for mental disorders. This is the second most-frequent diagnosis among these veterans.  It is an indicator of the profound effect recent war service is having on the mental health and well-being of our veterans. The data come from a March, 2013, report entitled Analysis of VA Healthcare Utilization Among Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation New Dawn (OND) Veterans .   Here are some numbers that reflect how extensive the use of VA services has been during the last decade. As of the end of 2012, 2.5 million troops had served since the beginning of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  Just over 1.6 million had become eligible for VA healthcare.  Of that group, almost 900,000 had used VA healthcare services by the end of 2012. These 900,000 veterans most often sought treatment in VA cen...

It is worth noting on this “traditional” Memorial Day of May 30 th that over 6,400 service people have lost their lives so far while fighting our two most recent wars. Unless we put more money into health and mental health care, many thousands more will eventually lose their lives fighting the physical and mental effects of these wars. This past weekend, we learned that 45% of returning Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans are seeking compensation for service-related injuries .  The challenge of finding the billions of dollars needed to treat these men and women will test us as a nation.  It will likely stoke the fires of yet another protracted battle about “public option” health care in America. This fight is about to take place because of two reasons. The first is that the percentage of veterans seeking compensation is twice what it was in past wars.  “Invisible” injuries with behavioral manifestations, like PTSD and traumatic brain injury, accou...

It is worth noting on this “traditional” Memorial Day of May 30 th that over 6,400 service people have lost their lives so far while fighting our two most recent wars. Unless we put more money into health and mental health care, many thousands more will eventually lose their lives fighting the physical and mental effects of these wars. This past weekend, we learned that 45% of returning Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans are seeking compensation for service-related injuries .  The challenge of finding the billions of dollars needed to treat these men and women will test us as a nation.  It will likely stoke the fires of yet another protracted battle about “public option” health care in America. This fight is about to take place because of two reasons. The first is that the percentage of veterans seeking compensation is twice what it was in past wars.  “Invisible” injuries with behavioral manifestations, like PTSD and traumatic brain injury, accou...

A newly released report found that hundreds of thousands of veterans experience excessive delays in trying to obtain mental health services from the Veterans Administration (VA).  This is especially sad to consider today, both because May is Mental Health Month and the President has just renewed our troop commitment to Afghanistan. William Hamilton was a 26 year old Iraq veteran when he died in May 2010. One of five siblings, he joined the army when he was nineteen. He experienced his first symptoms of mental illness while serving a tour in Iraq in 2005. He was diagnosed with PTSD and an anxiety disorder.  He was discharged honorably later that year and sought treatment at a VA Center. For four years, as his condition worsened, Hamilton bounced from one VA treatment setting to another.  In 2006, he was diagnosed with major depressive disorder.  Chemical dependency complicated his treatment.  He was hospitalized at the VA on several oc...

A newly released report found that hundreds of thousands of veterans experience excessive delays in trying to obtain mental health services from the Veterans Administration (VA).  This is especially sad to consider today, both because May is Mental Health Month and the President has just renewed our troop commitment to Afghanistan. William Hamilton was a 26 year old Iraq veteran when he died in May 2010. One of five siblings, he joined the army when he was nineteen. He experienced his first symptoms of mental illness while serving a tour in Iraq in 2005. He was diagnosed with PTSD and an anxiety disorder.  He was discharged honorably later that year and sought treatment at a VA Center. For four years, as his condition worsened, Hamilton bounced from one VA treatment setting to another.  In 2006, he was diagnosed with major depressive disorder.  Chemical dependency complicated his treatment.  He was hospitalized at the VA on several oc...