(May 16, 2008)—Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, who has secured millions of dollars for a joint VA research project into post-traumatic stress disorder, said Wednesday he’s “appalled” by an internal e-mail written by an employee of a Central Texas VA hospital that suggests avoiding a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder for veterans.

The VA has identified the sender of the e-mail as a post-traumatic stress disorder team leader at the Olin Teague VA Medical Center in Temple.

Click Here To Read The E-Mail

The email suggests an alternative diagnosis of adjustment disorder, which might result in a lower disability payment.

“Give that we are having more and more compensation seeking veterans,” the e-mail writer says, “I’d like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out.”

“Additionally, we really don’t have time to do the extensive testing that should be done to determine PTSD.”

Edwards released a statement late Wednesday afternoon responding to the memo.

“I am appalled at even the possibility that the health care diagnosis of a veteran could be influenced by anything other than an objective medical evaluation,” Edwards said.

“I believe the VA owes a clear explanation of this memo to the public and all actions taken to correct it.”

Other lawmakers say they’ll investigate the e-mailed suggestion to diagnose veterans with mental disorders that have lower disability payouts.

Hawaii Senator Daniel Akaka has asked the VA's Inspector General to review diagnosis patterns at the Temple facility.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a congressional watchdog group, and VoteVets.org, which opposes the Bush administration on the war and veterans issues, distributed the copy of the e-mail.

"It is outrageous that the VA is calling on its employees to deliberately misdiagnose returning veterans in an effort to cut costs, said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan.

“Those who have risked their lives serving our country deserve far better. First and foremost, they have a right to expect that they receive diagnoses and treatment based on their symptoms and not on the VA's budget. The VA should immediately reverse this and any other similar directives,” she said.

VA Secretary James Peake says the suggestions in the e-mail were "inappropriate" and that the employee had been repudiated and was apologetic.

Ironically, the Temple VA is part of the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System along with the Waco VA Hospital, which is involved in a joint study with Fort Hood examining the underlying causes of PTSD.

Tens of thousands of troops from nearby Fort Hood have served or are serving in Iraq.

The 2008 Defense Appropriations Bill included $2.7 million for the ongoing study.

“This groundbreaking research project is an important part of realizing our goal of making the Waco VA a world-class PTSD and mental health care research center, and it is one of the few programs in the country focusing on the links between genes and brain anatomy in the development of PTSD and mental illness in our combat soldiers,” Edwards said in November after the most recent funding was approved.

An independent study released last month says that about 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from either major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The study found that 320,000 have brain injuries.

Only about half have sought treatment, according to the study by the RAND Corporation.

The 500-page study is the first large-scale, private assessment of its kind including a survey of 1,965 service members across the country, from all branches of the armed forces and including those still in the military as well as veterans who have left the service.

The researchers estimate that the cost of PTSD and depression among returning service members will cost the U.S. as much as $6.2 billion in the two years following deployment.

They say an investment in higher quality treatment could reduce the indirect costs by $2 billion.

"There is a major health crisis facing those men and women who have served our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Terri Tanielian, the project's co-leader and a researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

"Unless they receive appropriate and effective care for these mental health conditions, there will be long-term consequences for them and for the nation. Unfortunately, we found there are many barriers preventing them from getting the high-quality treatment they need."

Click Here For More Information

Click Here To Read The E-Mail

Click Here For CREW Web Site

Click Here For VoteVets Web Site