Taking Care of Vets
Every March, as we wait for the first breath of spring here in the Midwest, thoughts in our house turn to my father-in-law, who passed away on March 17, 2000, after a 3-year battle with lung cancer.
Unemployed and without healthcare insurance at the time he became ill, my father-in-law, a U.S. Navy veteran, turned to the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago for treatment. There he received excellent and compassionate care right up to the night of his death. I will never forget how respectful and supportive the nurses and physician were as my husband and his sister made the difficult decision to remove their father from life support.
As the presidential campaign churns on, I listen to the candidates discuss the need to care for our veterans, and I know first-hand how important this is. I often wonder what my father-in-law would have done if medical treatment had not been available to him through the VA and am glad we didn't have to find out. I think about the many Vietnam era veterans who will continue to need VA assistance. And I think about the many soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries more severe and medical needs greater than veterans of any previous war.
Steps are being taken to provide for these vets. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans who served in combat since Nov. 11, 1998, including those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, are now eligible for 5 years of free medical care from the VA for most conditions, an increase from the previous 2-year limit.
But I have to wonder if this will be enough. In the March 3 issue of The New York Times columnist Bob Herbert writes about the testimony of economist Joseph Stiglitz before the Joint Economic Committee. Stiglitz told the committee that nearly 40 percent of the 700,000 troops from the first gulf war, which lasted just a month, have become eligible for disability benefits.
Stiglitz went on to ask the committee to think about how many vets will require disability benefits and medical services after the current war which may involve more than 2 million troops and will last more than 6 or 7 years.
I worry for veterans and their families. I hope the VA medical services that were available to my father-in-law will still be available to them in their time of need.