VA Asks Congress to Delay Proposed Benefit Increases for GI Bill

This is just not Right, the VA asking that Congress delay benefits for veterans because the VA is not up to the task of doing the job.


Full Article at: Hold off on new GI Bill changes, VA urges

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jul 21, 2010 12:53:15 EDT

The top education official for the Veterans Affairs Department is asking Congress to delay until Aug. 1, 2011, any significant changes or improvements in the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Congress can pass changes now, said Keith Wilson, VA’s education service director, but delaying the effective date of any such changes would avoid interference with the development and deployment of a new computer system that will streamline eligibility decisions and the complicated calculation of benefits.

“VA is working aggressively on a new payment system to support the existing Post-9/11 GI Bill provisions,” Wilson told the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Thursday. Making changes, especially to eligibility criteria, could delay a solution to the claims processing problems, he said.

Delay would come at a cost, however, because some of the changes would have far-reaching effects.

For example, the Senate committee is considering a bill, S 3447, that would make it easier for National Guard an"d reserve members to earn Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits by ensuring that time spent on active-duty in full-time support of the Guard and reserve, as well as military service in support of federally declared national emergencies, counts toward the time-in-service eligibility requirements for the new GI Bill.

Military officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said many reservists on full-time active-duty are delaying their retirement — which blocks openings for other people — while waiting for this change because they are waiting for the right to transfer education benefits to their families, something they will get only if their service counts toward earning the benefits.

Hyperbaric Treatment Shown to Help in TBI and PTSD

Recent research is demonstrating that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at 1.5 atmospheres helps heal blast-induced brain injury and PTSD in U.S. Veterans.

Full Article at: Representatives of the International Hyperbaric Medical Association Testify Before House Veterans Affairs Committee


"Evidence Presented on Safe and Cost-Effective Solution to Traumatic Brain Injury/Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (TBI/PTSD")

WASHINGTON, July 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Paul G. Harch, M.D., representing the International Hyperbaric Medical Association, presents research data from case reports and a prospective study to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. Recent research is demonstrating that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at 1.5 atmospheres helps heal blast-induced brain injury and PTSD in U.S. Veterans.

According to Dr. Harch, "Modern medicine has no other treatments for traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder that are as effective as hyperbaric oxygen therapy when the correct dose and protocol are used." Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is over 50 years old, and is approved for 13 indications, including non-healing wounds throughout the body and three types of brain injury.

Dr. Harch will be presenting preliminary findings from the LSU HBOT 1.5 Pilot study (LSU IRB #7051) which was funded by private citizens and charities that serve injured veterans. The first half of the HBOT 1.5 protocol produced the following significant improvements in Veterans: a 15 point IQ increase (p<0.001) (the difference between a laborer and an engineer); a 40% reduction in post-concussion symptoms [p=0.002 (np) ]; a 30% reduction in PTSD symptoms (p<0.001); a 51% decrease in indices of depression (p<0.001), and a 25 percentile increase in working memory. These results and the associated improvements in brain blood flow on functional brain imaging were consistent with changes in memory and blood vessel density achieved in an animal model that employed an earlier version of the HBOT 1.5 protocol. The imaging changes, in particular, argue strongly against the placebo effect as an explanation for the cognitive and symptom improvements. The vast majority of study subjects have returned to duty, work or school, and experienced quality of life improvements. The study findings are further supported by improvements in brain injured active duty service members treated with the HBOT 1.5 protocol by Drs. Eddie Zant and James Wright (USAF, retired). In the Zant/Wright case series all of the Airmen were retained in the service. This retention saved the government millions of dollars in future medical care, disability payments, and recruiting/training costs to replace the injured Airmen."

Brain Injury Increases Risk of Epilepsy

Full Article at: Soldiers with brain injuries at higher risk of epilepsy decades later
July 19, 2010

Soldiers who receive traumatic brain injuries during war may be at a higher risk of epilepsy even decades after the brain injury occurred. The new research is published in the July 20, 2010, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Given the better chances of survival in soldiers fighting in conflicts today, our research suggests that all veterans with a traumatic brain injury should be routinely screened for post-traumatic epilepsy, even decades after the injury," said study author Jordan Grafman, PhD, of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Md.

Post-traumatic epilepsy is the most common cause of new-onset epilepsy in young adults, with nearly 30,000 new cases per year in the United States.

For the study, researchers asked 199 veterans who experienced a brain injury 35 years prior whether they ever had a seizure. They were also given intelligence tests. The group underwent scans to detect brain lesions.

Of the 199 people, about 44 percent developed post-traumatic epilepsy.

"For a surprising 13 percent, the post-traumatic epilepsy didn't show up until more than 14 years after the brain injury," said Grafman. "This research strongly suggests that veterans with brain injury will require long-term neurology care."

The study also found that the type of seizure changed over time, often becoming more severe (or causing loss of consciousness).

Provided by American Academy of Neurology