The AP's Hope Yen reports on a group of Iraq veterans suing te Department of Veterans Affairs:

Suing on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans, it charges that the VA has failed to provide prompt disability benefits, to add staff to reduce wait times for medical care and to boost services for post-traumatic stress disorder.

The lawsuit also accuses the VA of deliberately cheating some veterans by working with the Pentagon to misclassify claims as preexisting personality disorders to avoid paying benefits. The VA and Pentagon have generally denied such charges.

There have been a lot of stories in the past few months about the military and the VA mishandling, mistreating or otherwise messing up on health care, particularly mental health issues. My little brother just joined the Army, and while health care during the initial stages seems to be pretty good (I feel like the kid has spent most of his time in a dentist's chair) I'm terrified of what will happen when his tour is over. Here's hoping that these vets get the help they need and that the lawsuits encourage the VA to improve (and hopefully expand) their services.

Story from The Detroit Free Press
[photo by soldiersmediacenter]