March 21, 2007

A bill that extends the period for treatment benefits for combat veterans who have suffered mild brain injury was passed March 20 by the House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittees on Health and Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

The measure, HR 612, increases the eligibility period from two to five years after being released from duty and is directed toward veterans who served during the Gulf War or after.

Veterans who qualify for the benefit extension may receive medical services, nursing or hospital care from the Veterans Administration for  mild brain injuries as well as mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Bob Filner (D-Calif.), the bill’s sponsor, has recently been critical of the government’s health care response for veterans. “My concerns are focused on how we serve our troops when they turn from the Pentagon to the VA for their healthcare,” Filner said in a statement posted on his Web site. “I am committed to preventing similar situations to Walter Reed from striking the VA system.”

Other veterans health care bills were passed during the 110th Congress include expanded benefits for vision loss, creation of a suicide prevention program and authorization for a cost-of-living increase for veterans with disabilities.

—Frank Long