Soldiers Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan: The Long-Term Costs of Providing Veterans Medical Care and Disability Benefits
Soldiers Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan: The Long-Term Costs of Providing Veterans Medical Care and Disability Benefits
复制标题
从伊拉克和阿富汗返回的士兵：提供退伍军人医疗和残疾福利的长期成本
DOI：
--
复制
发表时间：
2007
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Linda J. Bilmes
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Linda J. Bilmes
本文分析了从伊拉克和阿富汗冲突中返回的退伍军人的长期需求，以及这些需求的预算和结构后果。这份白皮书使用了来自政府来源的数据，如退伍军人福利管理年度报告。分析的主要结论是：(A)退伍军人健康管理局(VHA)已经被返乡退伍军人的数量及其严重的保健需求所压倒，如果没有更多的资金和精神护理等领域的能力增加，它将无法及时向大批返乡退伍军人提供高质量的护理；(B)退伍军人福利管理局(VBA)需要进行结构改革，以处理大量悬而未决的索赔；目前的索赔程序甚至无法处理目前的数量，完全不足以应对归来的退伍军人的高需求；(C)向来自伊拉克和阿富汗的退伍军人提供终身残疾补偿福利和医疗保健的预算成本将在3500亿至7000亿美元之间，这取决于美国士兵的部署时间、他们申领残疾福利的速度以及福利和医疗保健通胀的增长率。主要建议包括：增加退伍军人医疗保健的人员配置和资金，特别是心理健康治疗；增加“兽医中心”的人员配置和资金，并重组退伍军人福利管理局的福利申领流程。
This paper analyzes the long-term needs of veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and the budgetary and structural consequences of these needs. The paper uses data from government sources, such as the Veterans Benefit Administration Annual Report. The main conclusions of the analysis are that: (a) the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is already overwhelmed by the volume of returning veterans and the seriousness of their health care needs, and it will not be able to provide a high quality of care in a timely fashion to the large wave of returning war veterans without greater funding and increased capacity in areas such as psychiatric care; (b) the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is in need of structural reforms in order to deal with the high volume of pending claims; the current claims process is unable to handle even the current volume and completely inadequate to cope with the high demand of returning war veterans; and (c) the budgetary costs of providing disability compensation benefits and medical care to the veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan over the course of their lives will be from $350 - $700 Billion, depending on the length of deployment of US soldiers, the speed with which they claim disability benefits and the growth rate of benefits and health care inflation. Key recommendations include: increase staffing and funding for veterans medical care particularly for mental health treatment; expand staffing and funding for the "Vet Centers," and restructure the benefits claim process at the Veterans Benefit Administration.