As VA Appeals Court Ruling, Vets and the Nation Face Consequences

The Department of Veterans Affairs appears to be dodging its responsibilities to veterans in need of mental healthcare by seeking to appeal a ruling made by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco last spring. The side effects of the VA’s stonewalling include an increased burden on the nation’s healthcare system and dire consequences for the veterans in need of services.

Citing the VA’s “unchecked incompetence,” the Ninth U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals ruled that veterans’ groups could pursue legal proceedings to force the VA to overhaul its procedures so that veterans in need of healthcare, in particular, in need of mental health services, will get those services in a timely manner.

Two veterans groups, Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, sued the VA, claiming that the VA’s bureaucracy was so slow, veterans were not getting timely care and adjudication of claims. Veterans suffering from mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are often forced to wait weeks for services as the VA system struggles under an overwhelming demand for mental health services. The court case noted that on an average day, 18 veterans commit suicide – a quarter of those are enrolled to receive health services from the VA – and another 1,000 of VA-enrolled veterans attempt to take their own lives each month.