Edwards To Announce Proposal To Address PTSD In Veterans

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) on Monday during a speech at Plymouth State Universityin New Hampshire plans to announce a proposal to address the high rateof post-traumatic stress disorder in combat soldiers who return fromthe wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other issues related tohealth care for veterans, the AP/Wichita Eagle reports. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs,the number of veterans who experienced PTSD increased by 70% -- or by20,000 cases -- during the last fiscal year. The proposal would allowveterans to seek counseling for PTSD at health care facilities outsidethe VA system.

In addition, the proposal would increase thenumber of PTSD counselors employed by VA and ask family members to helpidentify cases. The proposal also would increase the time betweendeployments for soldiers who return from the wars in Iraq andAfghanistan. A Defense Departmentstudy conducted earlier this year found that insufficient time betweendeployments can lead to higher rates of PTSD or increased mental stress.

Theproposal also would provide all veterans with a comprehensive medicalexamination as part of a "Homefront Redeployment Plan."

Edwardssaid that he would finance the proposal, which would cost about $400million, through the elimination of certain tax breaks loopholes andincreased efficiency in tax collection practices. "I strongly believewe must restore the sacred contract we have with our veterans and theirfamilies and that we must begin by reforming our system for treatingPTSD," Edwards said in a copy of the speech (Elliot, AP/Wichita Eagle, 11/12). In related news, Caucus4Priorities,which supports a reduction in military spending and increased spendingfor health care and other social programs, on Friday endorsed Edwardsand promised to help him campaign in Iowa (Leys, Des Moines Register, 11/10).

Americans for Health Care

Americans for Health Care, a group organized by the Service Employees International Union, will hold mock caucuses in several states to promote health care as an issue in national and local elections, the Nevada Appealreports. In addition, the group will provide voters with an analysis ofthe health care proposals offered by presidential candidates.

Thegroup supports proposals that would ensure access to affordable,quality health care for all U.S. residents; focus on preventive care;and reduce costs (Dornan, Nevada Appeal, 11/8).

Clinton Record on Health Care 'Concealed,' According to Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times on Sunday examined how, although presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton(D-N.Y.) "presents herself as the candidate best able to give thenation better health care at lower prices" because of the "searingexperience she gained in trying to overhaul the health care systemduring her husband's presidency," a "big part of that history is beingconcealed."

According to the Times, hundreds ofpages of "memos and correspondence involving the health care plan ofthe early 1990s have been withheld, leaving a gap in a historic periodwhen Clinton undertook one of the most ambitious domestic policy foraysever attempted" (Nicholas, Los Angeles Times, 11/11).

Opinion Piece Addresses Giuliani Position on Health Care

Presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani(R) "is so busy offering dissembled statistics on how lethal England'shealth care system is to men with prostate cancer" that he "fails tosee just how free-market-friendly universal coverage would be," St. Petersburg Timesstaff writer Robyn Blumner writes in an opinion piece. Blumner writes,"Employer-sponsored health insurance is a historical accident that isnow crippling American competitiveness," and, "from a macroeconomicperspective, universal coverage would not weaken the free market asGiuliani asserts" but would "bolster and energize just about everyaspect of it."

According to Blumner, many U.S. residents mustremain in their current jobs because of the health insurance that theyreceive through their employers. Blumner concludes, "If you're one ofthose employees stuck in a miserable job year after year for the healthbenefits, Giuliani has good news for you: At least you aren't likely todie of prostate cancer" (Blumner, St. Petersburg Times, 11/11).

Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org. Youcan view the entire Kaiser DailyHealth Policy Report, search the archives, and sign up for email deliveryat kaisernetwork.org/email. The Kaiser Daily HealthPolicy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The HenryJ. Kaiser Family Foundation.