Health Affairs, 28, no. 5 (2009): 1553 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.5.1553 © 2009 by Project HOPE	New Online   Senate Health Reform Bill   Rewarding Providers   Public Option Policy Brief   Health Reform & Abortion   Delivery System Reform

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Letters

Mental Health Conditions Among Returning Veterans

Burnam and colleagues estimate that 18.5 percent of service members and veterans have a mental health problem (post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] or depression) but that fewer that one-fourth of them receive any treatment. Despite concerns about the methods, it can be useful to use this estimate for a preliminary evaluation of the extent that mental health care is provided to this population.

Through the end of 2008, 981,834 veterans returned from deployment to the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. The 18.5 percent estimate corresponds to 181,639 veterans with mental health conditions. The number of returning veterans with mental health conditions seen within the VA is quite comparable: 193,879 returning veterans receiving care from the VA received at least a preliminary clinical diagnosis of a mental health condition, mostly PTSD or depression. The similarity of these numbers may be fortuitous. The authors’ estimates are based on screening instruments, not clinical diagnoses, while the VA numbers reflect preliminary, not final, diagnoses of all mental health conditions, not just depression or PTSD. However, taken together, they suggest that the VA is making progress toward addressing the mental health needs of returning veterans. Of course, continued outreach and facilitated access to services continue to be needed to ensure that all those who need care receive it. Nevertheless, this comparison suggests that the authors underestimated the mental health services received by returning veterans.

Ira R. Katz
Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C.

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