Veterans Hospitals Begin Universal Patient Screening for Resistant Bacteria

You've likely heard about the drug-resistant staph infection that's caused quite a stir in schools throughout the country this fall. Reacting to pressure from Medicare, this month the nation's VA Medical Centers will begin screening all patients for this and other difficult-(i.e., expensive)-to-treat conditions.

From Bloomberg:

Medicare, the U.S. health plan for the elderly and disabled, will stop paying for treatment of some infections that arise in hospitals and are caused by germs such as MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, that are invulnerable to existing medicines. Treating resistant infections can cost as much as $300,000 for each case.

MRSA, once found primarily in hospital patients, now is surfacing among other people. Hard-to-treat infections in U.S. hospitals cost an estimated $20 billion annually nationwide. Beginning this month, about 160 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers will screen patients for the bacteria. The risk of losing Medicare payments is spurring other facilities to test for the lethal germs as well.

Are PTSD Veterans Slated to Lose Their Right to Possess Firearms?

I haven't peered deeply enough into this issue, but I've been hearing bits and pieces of this story for the past couple of months. The following explanation of this hot button issue is from a Military.com column by VAWatchdog.org editor Larry Scott:

There is no such thing as the “Veterans Disarmament Act.” There is no pending legislation that would take firearms away from veterans. There is no pending legislation that would prevent a person with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), veteran or not, from purchasing a firearm or ammo.

But, there is a huge campaign of misinformation and scare tactics being forwarded by a small gun owners group who view themselves to be in competition with the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Let’s use some common sense instead of nonsense. If veterans were to lose the right to own firearms, you’d have a lot of unemployed cops. If those who have PTSD were to lose that right, there’d be even more unemployed cops and other first responders, as well. The arguments about a “Veterans Disarmament Act” are, quite simply, ridiculous and illogical.

The piece of legislation is question is H.R. 2640, the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007. H.R. 2640 was carefully-crafted by the NRA and Members of Congress to protect the rights of gun owners, especially those who may have mental health issues such as PTSD.

Alert: Tell your public officials how you feel about this legislation.

Blackwater PTSD Care Questioned

From ABC News:

Along with congressional hearings on allegations of recklessness against Blackwater USA security forces in Iraq, questions are also being raised about the way military contractors deal with traumatic stress while overseas and upon returning home.

The House began hearings Tuesday on the military contractor Blackwater following reports about the company's employees in Iraq who were linked to the killings of 11 Iraqi civilians in September...In light of the high-profile incidents, possible explanations for the company's actions are emerging, including psychological harm such as post-traumatic stress that led to erratic behavior by some contractors.

"I have never heard of a company offering psychological counseling," a military contractor who works for another company said on the condition of anonymity because of his firm's involvement with the Blackwater investigation.

In February we looked at the mental health care given to private government contractors returning from work in combat zones like Iraq. While the focus at that time was on insurance coverage denial, related questions are rising from the current Blackwater story.

One problem area is the responsibility private companies have -- or do not have -- for providing returning employees access to sufficient health care resources (to treat PTSD, for example, if necessary). And how proactive do these private companies need to be in designing and delivering such a health care system?