Defense Secretary Urged to Provide Treatment Option to TBI Victims
Defense Secretary Urged to Provide Treatment Option to TBI Victims
Sen. Mark Udall, co-chair of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force is calling for Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, to provide soldiers suffering from traumatic brain injuries with cognitive rehabilitation therapy. Recently, Udall signed a bipartisan letter which urged Gates to provide the treatment for TBI victims and noted that cognitive rehabilitation therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment option for TBI patients."With so many of our service members returning home with traumatic brain injuries, both severe and more mild cases, we should ensure that they are provided with broad and consistent access to cognitive therapy. Those who have sacrificed for our freedom deserve the best care for the visible injuries they sustained - as well as for the invisible wounds," said Udall, who is also a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees. According to a Rand Corporation study, twenty percent of soldiers returning home from combat suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI). According to an in-depth investigation by National Public Radio and ProPublica, during the past few decades, scientists and neurologists have become increasingly persuaded that people who suffer traumatic brain injuries benefit from cognitive rehabilitation therapy. However, Tricare, the health insurance for the U.S. military and many U.S. veterans, has refused to pay for the treatment. Additionally, Tricare's stance has discouraged civilian clinics from treating soldiers. According to the NPR investigation, many civilian clinics have had trouble getting paid for the treatment. Tricare refuses to pay for the treatment because those with brain injuries can often perform basic functions that let them get through their daily lives, says Mark Ashley, the president of the Centre for Neuro Skills, a chain of rehabilitation clinics. In order for a patient with a TBI to return to a fully normal life, he or she will have to go through lengthy traumatic brain injury treatment, like cognitive rehabilitation therapy, however. According to Tricare, the scientific research does not justify the coverage of the treatment even though a panel of more than 50 experts convened last year agreed that the treatment is a beneficial one for TBI patients. Robert DeMartino, a U.S. Public Health Service official who directs Tricare's behavioral health department said that Tricare is mandated to ensure the quality, consistency and safety of medical care delivered to service members. According to DeMartino, many of the studies done were not big enough or were not double-blind studies, meaning that participants do not know whether or not they are receiving treatment or a placebo. Patients re-learn simple tasks such as counting, cooking, or remembering directions on how to get home. The teatment can take months- even years. Patients spend about 30 hours per week in therapy, as well.
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