Manchin Advocates for Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment for our Returning Service Members
TRICARE currently falls short of providing the therapies our soldiers need
Washington, D.C. — United States Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is urging the Department of Defense to ensure that service members with traumatic brain injuries receive the best possible treatment when they return home.
In a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Manchin and a bipartisan group of 73 members of the House and Senate shared their concern that service members returning from the battlefield today are unable to receive therapies that treat traumatic brain injury unless they have a specific waiver. The treatment – known as cognitive rehabilitation – helps with thinking and perception.
Senator Manchin said: “Our brave men and women have fought hard to keep our country safe, and it is our sacred responsibility to make sure we give them the best possible care when they return home. I will fight to make sure that they receive the care they need, and that we keep our promises to them and their families.”
As of November 2009, there were a total of 37,692 TRICARE beneficiaries in West Virginia, all of whose TRICARE coverage would be modified under such a proposal, to include separately billed cognitive rehabilitation therapy. It is unknown exactly how many currently suffer from a condition for which cognitive rehabilitation therapy might be prescribed.
The bipartisan letter says: “Considering that our service members have been deployed in two conflicts for nearly a decade, it is our hope that there exists some contingency plan to provide cognitive rehabilitation for service members who are returning home today, particularly with mild traumatic brain injuries. While TRICARE clearly pays for rehabilitation for physical injuries, brain injuries – the invisible wounds of this war – are not given the same therapy if not treated as part of a comprehensive brain injury rehabilitation program.”
The therapy in question – cognitive rehabilitation – has been widely recognized as a proven treatment for traumatic brain injury by experts and groups including the National Institutes of Health, the Brain Injury Association of America, and the National Academy of Neuropsychology. In addition, many states pay for cognitive rehabilitation under their Medicaid programs, and most private insurers cover this service.
“We hope TRICARE will find some way to provide access to cognitive rehabilitation for our returning service members who would benefit from this therapy – both those with more severe and mild traumatic brain injuries – and to ensure that care decisions are made consistently.”
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear Secretary Gates:
As you may know, members of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, as well as other supportive Members of Congress, have written in the past in support of TRICARE covering cognitive rehabilitation for service members with brain injuries. In 2008, then-Senator Obama and then-Senator Bayh led letters with eight members of the Senate and over 65 House members. Two years later, the Department is still studying the issue and docs not expect to make a decision on the results of a study mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 anytime soon.
We hope you share our concern that service members returning from the battlefield today cannot wait to receive treatment for their injuries. Yet without a specific waiver applicable only under very unusual and limited circumstances, TRICARE docs not cover cognitive rehabilitation therapy programs that aid in the management of specific problems in thinking and perception when billed as a separate service. Considering that our service members have been deployed intwo conflicts for nearly a decade, it is our hope that there exists some contingency plan to provide cognitive rehabilitation for service members who are returning home today, particularly those with mild traumatic brain injuries.
While TRICARE clearly pays for rehabilitation for physical injuries, brain injuries-the invisible wounds of this war-arc not given the same therapy if not treated as part of a comprehensive brain injury rehabilitation program. Recent stories by NPR and ProPublica give examples of providers at civilian clinics who have tried to help soldiers with their cognitive rehabilitation, only to be informed by TRICARE that they cannot receive payment for their services.
As this issue is studied, we ask that you share with us your plans to ensure that our service members with brain injuries arc not only identified, but also able to receive treatment such as cognitive rehabilitation to restore their cognitive functions. Cognitive rehabilitation is widely recognized as a proven treatment for traumatic brain injury by experts and groups, including the National Institutes of Health, the Brain Injury Association of America, and the National Academy of Neuropsychology.
Many states pay for cognitive rehabilitation under their Medicaid programs, and most private insurers cover this service. In light of this consensus from a wide variety of organizations, experts and government agencies, we hope that TRICARE will find some way to provide access to cognitive rehabilitation for our returning service members who would benefit from this therapy- both those with more severe and mild traumatic brain injuries- and to ensure that care decisions are made consistently. We also respectfully request a meeting with appropriate officials at the Department to discuss TRICARE' s plans to ensure treatment coverage for our service members with brain injuries.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. Please let us know how you plan to expedite new treatments for traumatic brain injured soldiers as soon as possible. We look forward to working with you to provide the best care to our service members.
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