A VA coverup?

Friday, April 25, 2008 | 2:04 a.m.

After CBS News in November reported what it had learned during research into suicides by veterans — that the numbers represented a “hidden epidemic” — the Department of Veterans Affairs’ top mental health official disagreed.

According to CBS, that official, Dr. Ira Katz, responded by saying, “Their number is not, in fact, an accurate reflection of the (suicide) rate.” CBS also reported that Katz denied there was an epidemic of suicides among veterans.

Now two senators on the Veterans Affairs Committee, Chairman Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and Patty Murray, D-Wash., are calling for Katz to resign, saying his response concealed the truth.

The CBS report was based on statistics compiled over five months on the number of suicides in 2005 among all U.S. military veterans.

Forty-five states provided the statistics. (The other five states, including Nevada, claimed the sought-after data were not available.) Government and academic experts on health and population statistics consulted on the project and provided analysis.

CBS concluded that “120 of those who have served in the military took their own lives every week — more than double the suicide rate for those who haven’t served.”

Internal e-mails written by Katz surfaced this week among documents involving a lawsuit against the VA in San Francisco.

One e-mail, written just days after Katz’s public rebuttal of the CBS report, privately acknowledged there “are about 18 suicides per day among America’s 25 million veterans.” That’s 6,570 a year. CBS’ figure, 120 a week, represents 6,240 a year.

Another e-mail was written two months ago, days after the VA had told CBS News there were 790 attempted suicides among veterans in 2007. In Katz’s e-mail, however, he said, “Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among veterans we see in our medical facilities.” He titled the e-mail, “Not for the CBS News Interview Request.”

The e-mails are disturbing because they suggest the VA is trying to cover up its statistics on suicides and suicide attempts.

At the very least, Katz should testify before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee about the e-mails. If Katz cannot give satisfactory explanations for them, he should be fired.