President Obama Signs Veterans' Health Bill That Includes Improvement In Women's Services

Veterans' health legislation (S 1963) President Obama signed Wednesday includes several provisions to improve care for female veterans, Time reports (Fitzpatrick, Time, 5/5). The bill, called the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act, expands mental health and counseling services to veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, including to members of the National Guards and reservists (Wilson, "44," Washington Post, 5/5).

The bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to train mental health professionals in caring for military women who have survived sexual trauma. According to Time, one in five military women experience sexual trauma, which increases their risk of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems by almost 60%.

The measure also authorizes research on the wars' effects on women's physical, mental and reproductive health and calls for a comprehensive assessment of the unique barriers to care that women face. According to veterans' advocates, limited access to childcare and the perception that VA hospitals mainly service older men contribute to the fact that female veterans are less likely than males to seek care at the facilities (Time, 5/5). The bill includes the creation of pilot child-care program for veterans undergoing intensive medical care ("44," Washington Post, 5/5).


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