(Jim Whaley, for The Washington Examiner) – More than 1.7 million veterans live with PTSD, and veterans continue to face a suicide risk disproportionately higher than the civilian population. Yet veterans often wait weeks, if not months, to receive treatment.

Despite the Department of Veterans Affairs’s 20- to 28-day access standard for primary, specialist, and mental healthcare, wait times are much longer, with neurology appointments averaging 76.3 days and veterans at some facilities waiting upwards of five months for mental health treatment.

Veterans in urgent need of mental health support or living with traumatic brain injuries can’t afford to wait that long. With the House of Representatives recently returned from recess and the Senate reconvening on Sept. 14, lawmakers have an opportunity to address these barriers by advancing the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act.

Read the full article here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/fairness-justice/4714761/take-care-of-america-veterans-act-va-reform-ptsd-reemployment/