Letters

The Disability Trap

David French’s article on the VA’s overmedication of veterans (“Casualties of the VA,” July 11) was most insightful; your candor is especially noteworthy. You failed to mention what is, alas, a major motivation for recent veterans to claim an “official” PTSD diagnosis — namely, disability compensation. Comparisons with the U.K. are instructive, but so is the comparison between the VA today and before 2001. Today, perhaps with the best of intentions, the VA in conjunction with the Armed Services deliberately channels veterans into “disability ghettos,” which can indeed disrupt and delay recovery, impede reintegration into society, and of course misdirect resources. Not only are VA benefits actively pushed onto veterans, but there are negative financial consequences for recovering from mental-health conditions that are eminently treatable. The best thing we could do for veterans would be to emulate best practices in industry and even workers’ compensation, which focus on recovery and improved health, not on labeling someone as permanently disabled. This labeling is self-defeating and hinders recovery. Your excellent personal story is illustrative of a poorly run system for both veterans and taxpayers. Thank you kindly.