What Happens to Healthcare When Troops Come Home?

In the debate over “Obamacare” and the drain of healthcare on the economy, there has not been a lot of discussion about how the system is going to handle troops coming back from combat over the next few years.  Expenditures for the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has an exponential impact on the U.S. health care system. PTSD and TBI are common conditions in soldiers that witness trauma and are exposed to explosions...

there is little doubt that increased health care spending is related to the number of PTSD and TBI diagnosed cases. The U.S. spends approximately 17% of its gross domestic product (GDP), on health care. GDP is important because it serves as an indicator of the condition, of a country’s economy. No other country spends more than 12% of its GDP on health care and the U.S. does worse than most other countries in every measure of health outcomes...