Oregon's two US Senators heard from veterans Tuesday about mental health care that's available to soldiers returning from war.
The hearing at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Portland gathered testimony for the Senate's committee on aging. Republican Gordon Smith is the ranking member of the panel and Democrat Ron Wyden is also a member.
Smith said he's introducing a bill establishing what he calls a "Hero to Hero" program. It would make mentor among veteran's more systematic. Smith said his ultimate aim is put treatment of mental health on par with physical medicine.
Gordon Smith: "It needs insurance parity. It needs medical school parity. It needs Medicare and Medicaid parity. And this is just one more chapter in that agenda. And that is veterans mental health parity."
Smith plans a similar hearing on Thursday at a veterans clinic in White City, and a third hearing on Capitol Hill later this summer.
Colin Fogarty, OPB News
1 comment:
well i don't know if the bill means that the mental health will actually become more AVAILABLE to veterans, but it sure needs to, with the huge numbers of PTSD cases. even in non-veterans, mental health care is so lacking as it is! but we really need to take care of those returning from war.
karen
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