http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/27/news/economy/veterans-disability/index.htm?iid=HP_LN

Through September 2011, about 740,000 veterans from overseas contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan had been treated by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). That number is slightly more than half of all recent veterans eligible for care by VHA.

VHA spent about $2 billion in fiscal year 2010 to provide medical care to all recent combat veterans.

One in Four Recent Combat Veterans Treated at VHA from 2004 to 2009 Had a Diagnosis of PTSD; 7 Percent Had a Diagnosis of TBI

Using data for recent veterans treated by VHA from 2004 to 2009, CBO found that:

• 21 percent were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but not traumatic brain injury (TBI),
• 2 percent were diagnosed with TBI but not PTSD,
• An additional 5 percent had both PTSD and TBI, and
• The remaining 72 percent had neither diagnosis.

Treating Recent Combat Veterans Diagnosed with PTSD, TBI, or Both Was Much More Expensive Than Treating Other Recent Veterans

Read all:    http://www.cbo.gov/publication/42969

THIS MONTH, after nearly nine years, the American war in Iraq is finally drawing to a close. At its peak, 170,000 Americans were stationed in more than 500 military bases across the country. In total, more than 2 million US troops have served in Iraq; now we are down to the last 18,000, with hundreds leaving every day.

With the end of the war looming, we can say for certain that the total cost will be at least $4 trillion. This figure could climb much higher, depending on the number of veterans who require long-term care, the cost of replacing equipment, and the full social and economic impact of the war. The human toll has been equally high: 4,486 Americans have been killed in Iraq, 32,000 wounded in action, and tens of thousands seriously injured. More than one-third of recent veterans report having a service-connected disability.

Despite a concerted effort to train Iraqi forces and help reconstruct the country, Iraq remains insecure and politically unstable, with constant threats from Shi’ite militias loyal to Iran, as well as Sunni militants such as Al Qaeda. Millions of Iraqis are still displaced from their homes, either living in exile outside the country or unable to return to their old neighborhoods after the sectarian violence of 2005 to 2007. Meanwhile, the balance of power in the region, which President Bush hoped to tip in favor of the West, is precarious and depends on many factors outside US control. Amid this gloomy picture it is timely to ask what lessons the war should hold for America.

Read More ]]> http://threetrilliondollarwar.org/2011/12/07/what-have-we-learned-from-iraq/feed/ 0 http://threetrilliondollarwar.org/2011/07/27/ny-times-looks-at-rising-cost-of-veterans-care/ http://threetrilliondollarwar.org/2011/07/27/ny-times-looks-at-rising-cost-of-veterans-care/#comments Thu, 28 Jul 2011 04:34:15 +0000 Linda http://threetrilliondollarwar.org/?p=422 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/us/28veterans.html

The study focused particularly on war costs that have occurred (or been incurred but not yet paid) during the past decade since September 11, 2011.  It features important new work on the casualties and costs to defense contractors, and the social impact on military families.   The section by Winslow Wheeler analyzes the increases in the defense base budget over the past decade.  Portions of the report focus on costs to Iraq and to the region.   The website includes a range of charts and tables.    The study covers overlapping, but somewhat different ground, from the Stiglitz-Bilmes study.

SEE: http://costsofwar.org/

Read full testimony: http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?newsid=632.

The previous VA system had forced veterans to prove that their PTSD was triggered by  a specific traumatic incident during service, which was often difficult or impossible given the chaos that typically surrounds an IED explosion or other traumatic episode.  Additionally, one-third of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have served multiple deployments and their PTSD is cumulative and cannot be easily traced to a specific incident.  The immediate effect of this change will enable veterans to claim benefits more quickly and easily and with less delay.

The change will accelerate the payment of benefits to hundreds of thousands of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, and it will enable tens of thousands more, who were previously ineligible to receive benefits (because they couldn’t pinpoint the source of their PTSD)  to receive benefits.  The medical community estimates that 15-20% of veterans are suffering from PTSD; therefore this cohort will now receive a monthly cash benefit.   The long-term cost of this was already anticipated in our cost estimates, as we had expected that all veterans with PTSD would eventually receive compensation.  However, this change will accelerate the uptake of benefits and should therefore add at least $10 billion to the long-term cost of veterans disability compensation.

See Q&A on this issue here.

Our research shows that the economic value of a life lost is around $7 million — this, of course, does not count the tragedy of the loss to the individual and his or her family.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/01/va-says-suicide-rate-for-vets-jumped-26-from-2005-2007/1

Army Sergeant Erik Roberts, who was wounded in Iraq by a roadside bomb in 2006, has been forced to undergo 13 surgeries in an desperate effort to save his leg.  Yet Erik has had to pay for most of his medical treatment through his own private insurance and now he has been billed $3000 for antibiotics.  Here is yet another example of a pattern — extensively documented in GAO reports and in The Three Trillion Dollar War — of the government trying to pass the cost of the war on to our veterans and their families.   Read the full story: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/26/wounded.warrior/index.html?iref=mpstoryview