| Hand-wringing piece from AP, but to the extent that this is true, we need to be better about helping our troops after they return. A few additional dollars would have a measurable impact. |
WASHINGTON (AP) - Soldiers returning from war are finding it more difficult to get mental health treatment because military insurance is cutting payments to therapists, on top of already low reimbursement rates and a tangle of red tape. Wait lists now extend for months to see a military doctor and it can takes weeks to find a private therapist willing to take on members of the military. The challenge appears great in rural areas, where many National Guard and Reserve troops and their families live.
To avoid the hassles of Tricare, the military health insurance program, one frustrated therapist opted to provide an hour of therapy time a week to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans for free. Barbara Romberg, a clinical psychologist in the Washington, D.C., area, has started a group that encourages other therapists to do the same. ``They're not going to pay me much in terms of my regular rate anyway,'' Romberg said. ``So I'm actually feeling positive that I've given, rather than feeling frustrated for what I'm going through to get payment.''
Joyce Lindsey, 46, of Troutdale, Ore., sought grief counseling after her husband died in Afghanistan last September. The therapist recommended by her physician would not take Tricare. Lindsey eventually found one on a provider list, but the process took two months. ``It was kind of frustrating,'' Lindsey said. ``I thought, 'Am I ever going to find someone to take this?''' |