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No combat necessary

The Department of Veterans Affairs is moving closer to simplifying the process for many veterans to link post-traumatic stress disorder to their military service, whether in a war zone or not, which opens the door for disability benefits.

Under a proposed change published in the Aug. 24 Federal Register, VA would eliminate a requirement that in order to be approved for disability benefits for PTSD, veterans must provide evidence to prove they witnessed or experienced a traumatic event linked to their military service, to include eyewitness corroboration and other documentation.

Under the new policy, VA would accept a veteran’s own testimony. “This will allow us to pay benefits much faster,” said Brad Flohr, VA’s assistant director for policy for compensation and pensions.

Certain veterans, including prisoners of war and those who engaged in combat, already are exempt from the documentation requirement. In a change that took effect earlier this year, those diagnosed with PTSD while still on active duty also do not have to provide this documentation to qualify for VA benefits.

The proposed change is aimed in large part at the many troops in the current wars whose jobs do not involve combat with the enemy but nonetheless may experience traumatic events that lead to PTSD, such as combat support personnel and health care providers.

Some studies estimate that as many as 20 percent of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD or symptoms of the disorder.

But the new policy would not apply only to those who served in combat zones. It refers to traumatic events “consistent with the places, types and circumstances of the veteran’s service.”

A psychiatrist or psychologist must still confirm that the traumatic event is adequate to support a diagnosis of PTSD and that the veteran’s symptoms are related to the traumatic event, according to the proposed change.

Veterans advocates hope that the new rules will resolve many pending disability claims for PTSD and help reduce VA’s large backlog of benefits claims.

VA will accept comments on the proposed change through Oct. 23. Depending on the nature and number of comments received, officials hope to implement the rule by early next year, Flohr said.

According to the Federal Register notice, a veteran’s lay testimony is already sufficient in cases of PTSD diagnosed during military service that was caused by a traumatic event related to that service; or in cases in which a veteran engaged in combat or was a prisoner of war, and the trauma was related to that experience.

The new policy recognizes that PTSD stems from other experiences besides combat, such as sexual assault, said John Maki of Disabled American Veterans.

“In many instances, people have a diagnosis of PTSD but don’t have the evidence, like a combat citation or a wound,” Maki said.

VA sometimes must spend much time and effort to research a veteran’s PTSD claim, he said, such as possibly requesting a unit’s records to show where it was and what it was doing.

The proposed change would give veterans the benefit of the doubt, he said. “If the veteran tells a consistent story about what happened, and it’s compatible with what was going on in that area, it can be adjudicated without other documentation,” Maki said.

DISCUSS: PTSD claim rules