Name: Doc L E-mail:Glamunyon@aol.com Subject: Subject: No PTSD Review -- VA Secretary
-----Original Message----- From: VA Media Relations Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 11:58 AM Subject: No PTSD Review -- VA Secretary
The following was provided by the Hometown News Service of the
Department of Veterans Affairs:
No Across-the-Board Review of PTSD Cases - Secretary Nicholson
WASHINGTON (Nov. 10, 2005) - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
will not review the files of 72,000 veterans currently receiving
disability compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder, the
Department`s secretary announced today.
On May 19, 2005, VA`s Inspector General reported on an examination of
the files of a sample of 2,100 randomly selected veterans with
disability ratings for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The IG
cited insufficient documentation in the files and a dramatic increase in
veterans filing for disability compensation for post-traumatic stress
disorder since 1999.
`We have now just completed our own careful review of those 2,100 files
cited in the IG`s report,`` said the Honorable R. James Nicholson,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs. `The problems with these files appear to
be administrative in nature, such as missing documents, and not fraud.`
`In the absence of evidence of fraud, we`re not going to put our
veterans through the anxiety of a widespread review of their disability
claims,`` Nicholson said. `Instead, we`re going to improve our training
for VA personnel who handle disability claims and toughen administrative
oversight.`
`Not all combat wounds are caused by bullets and shrapnel,` Nicholson
added. `We have a commitment to ensure veterans with PTSD receive
compassionate, world-class health care and appropriate disability
