The Veterans Affairs Committee in the US House of Representatives in 2007 accused the Department of Defense of deliberately misusing the personality diagnoses to save some $12.5 billion in health care and compensation. The law clinic has determined ...
March 23, 2012 - The Department of Defense has illegally discharged hundreds of veterans in the past decade by not following their own protocols when making a diagnosis of personality disorder, which denies them certain medical benefits and carries a stigma that hurts re-entry to civilian life.That conclusion is based on data collected from the Department of Defense as the result of two Freedom of Information suits filed by the Veterans Services Clinic at Yale Law School on behalf of its clients, Vietnam Veterans of America.
The VVA and the Yale clinic Thursday released their report: “Casting Troops Aside: The United States Military’s Illegal Personality Disorder Discharge Problem.”
A person let go from military service with a diagnosis of personality disorder cannot access retirement disability benefits or severance disability payments and they may not qualify for monthly service connected compensation and timely health care from Veterans Affairs.
Personality disorder is considered a pre-existing condition, as opposed to post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury and usually manifests itself in adolescence.
The Veterans Affairs Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007 accused the Department of Defense of deliberately misusing the personality diagnoses to save some $12.5 billion in health care and compensation.
The law clinic has determined that a total of 31,000 service members from 2001 to 2010 were discharged on the basis of alleged personality disorder, which is nearly 20 percent more than the 26,000 personality disorder discharges estimated by the federal General Accounting Office for 2001 to 2007.
Eileen Lainez, a spokeswoman for the Department of Defense, said she could not comment on the report because she had not reviewed it, but said the department periodically assesses its policies on discharges. read more>>>
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