The nonprofit research organization RAND released a study of the mental health of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, showing thousands of new veterans aren't getting care for traumatic brain injuries and mental health problems. PTSD and depression among returning troops will cost the nation as much as $6.2 billion in the two years following deployment. Investing in higher quality treatment could save close to $2 billion within two years.
The RAND study
- Looked at post-deployment needs from post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, and traumatic brain injury
- Examined the treatment capacity of the current health care system, and
- estimated the costs of providing quality health care to all military members who need it.
Details are in Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery. See http://www.rand.org/multi/military/veterans/
for this and numerous other studies.
Kudos to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America for publicizing this here.
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