VA Doctor Discouraged Post-Traumatic Diagnoses

A team leader at a veterans' medical center in Texas sent staffers an email urging them to avoid diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder, the Washington Post reports. "Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out," wrote the psychologist, suggesting a milder condition be diagnosed instead.

A Veterans Administration spokesman insisted the email did not reflect government policy. Hundreds of thousands of troops have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan mentally scarred, and their compensation costs will be in the billions. "Many veterans believe that the government doesn't want to pay out the disability that comes along with a PTSD diagnosis," said the head of a veterans group. "This revelation will not allay their concerns." (More PTSD stories.)