Senator Udall Calls For Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy For Soldiers

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Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado who is also 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. Udall recently 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).

Scientists and neurologists have become increasingly persuaded that people who suffer traumatic brain injuries benefit from cognitive rehabilitation therapy, according to an in-depth investigation by National Public Radio and ProPublica. However, Tricare, the health insurance for the U.S. military and many U.S. veterans, has refused to pay for the treatment.

Tricare's stance has discouraged civilian clinics from treating soldiers. Many civilian clinics have had trouble getting paid for the treatment, according to the NPR investigation. According to Mark Ashley, the president of the Centre for Neuro Skills, a chain of rehabilitation clinics, 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. 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. Tricare is mandated to ensure the quality, consistency and safety of medical care delivered to service members. 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, said DeMartino.

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.


About the Author:
To find a potential brain injury lawyer and for a free legal consultation, visit http://brain-injury.legalview.info/ and to learn about medical malpractice, visit http://medical-malpractice.legalview.info/.



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