More Than 70 Members of Congress Demand Cognitive Treatment for Troops With Traumatic Brain Injuriesby T. Christian Miller, ProPublica, and Daniel Zwerdling, NPR Feb. 4, 2011, 4:20 p.m.
A bipartisan group of 74 lawmakers issued a letter Friday demanding that the Pentagon's health plan cover a treatment for brain-injured soldiers known as cognitive rehabilitation therapy.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., and Rep. Todd Platts, R-Pa., the leaders of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, cited an investigation by ProPublica and NPR revealing that Tricare, an insurance-style plan covering soldiers and many veterans, had relied on a controversial study to avoid paying for the intensive and often expensive treatment.
"We hope that you share our concern that service members returning from the battlefield cannot wait to receive treatment for their injuries," the letter states. "It is our hope that there exists some contingency plan to provide cognitive rehabilitation for service members who are returning home today."
Official Pentagon figures show that nearly 200,000 troops have suffered traumatic brain injuries since 2001, though our investigation found evidence suggesting the true toll is far higher. Although the majority of soldiers recover from the most common form of head trauma, known as mild traumatic brain injury or concussion, some suffer lifelong mental difficulties, with trouble remembering words or following directions.Pascrell and Platts first wrote a letter, also signed by scores of lawmakers, demanding that Tricare provide cognitive rehabilitation more than two years ago. In response, Tricare contracted a study that found insufficient evidence to justify providing the treatment.
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