Washington, D.C. - Congressman Joe Donnelly was in Kokomo today to discuss his bill, H.R. 2048, The Traumatic Brain Injury Access to Options Act. In an effort to provide injured service members and their families with more options to obtain the best possible care to meet their needs, Congressman Donnelly introduced H.R. 2048 on Thursday with Congressional Brain Injury Task Force Co-Chairs Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Todd Platts (R-PA); and Congressmen Brad Ellsworth (D-IN), Fred Upton (R-MI) and Baron Hill (D-IN).
“The use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in Iraq and Afghanistan has meant that more of our men and women in uniform are sustaining traumatic brain injuries than in previous conflicts. However, improvements in protective equipment and medical care mean that more service members are surviving these injuries than in the past,” Donnelly said. “To ensure the best possible outcome for these service members, I want to make sure they have options for obtaining appropriate treatment and rehabilitation as soon after the trauma as possible.”
Currently, seriously wounded soldiers go through a complicated process where they are medically retired from service. After that point, they become eligible for VA health care. However, while active duty health insurance for service members (TRICARE) will cover cognitive therapy for TBI at private facilities, the VA does not. Further, the VA provides its best care for TBI at four Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers that are scattered across the country in Richmond, Tampa, Minneapolis and Palo Alto. These locations are not convenient for all service members and their families. For the most severe TBI cases, private facilities that have long been specializing in cognitive therapy are sometimes able to offer better or more convenient care than the DoD or VA facilities.
““The Department of Defense (DoD) and the VA have been making very good progress at improving medical and rehabilitative care for personnel recovering from TBI,” Donnelly said. “However, the process of getting care can be confusing and any delay in receiving services can stand in the way of the patient achieving the best possible outcome. Additionally, traveling great distances to receive care causes a major disturbance in the lives of those caring for service members, sometimes forcing them to quit their jobs and forego other responsibilities to family and community. As the DoD and the VA continue to build their system of care, we need to give more options so patients and families have the ability to arrange the best care that meets their needs.”
Identical to Senator Evan Bayh’s S.1113, H.R. 2048 would allow service members diagnosed with severe TBI or their families the option to defer medical retirement from the military for up to one year after diagnosis so that they can receive TRICARE-covered cognitive rehabilitation and care at private facilities. Waiving medical retirement would be optional and this bill would not prevent service members from choosing to get care at DoD or VA facilities. This option to receive TRICARE-covered cognitive rehabilitation and care at private facilities would sunset five years after enactment to allow the DoD and VA time to further improve TBI treatment options and address any discrepancies in care.
In addition, H.R. 2048 would provide medical advocates trained in both DoD and VA protocols to assist service members and their families.
H.R. 2048 would also require the GAO to provide a report to Congress two years after enactment and every year after that identifying and addressing any discrepancies in TBI care between DoD and the VA.
“We may not be able to prepare for every situation that comes up out in the field, but we can do our best to be prepared to care for our service men and women when these situations arise.” Donnelly said. “This legislation would make a necessary adjustment giving those service members diagnosed with TBI more options to receive the best possible care. Just as our men and women in uniform are facing unconventional and varied threats in Iraq and Afghanistan and adapting accordingly, we must adjust the care they receive upon returning home to reflect their unique and diverse needs.”
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