Brain Injury Association of New York State

Congress Partners with BIAA in Urging Coverage
for Veterans’ Cognitive Rehabilitation

The Association is pleased to announce that progress is being made in the campaign to increase access to timely, state-of-the-art care for returning service members with traumatic brain injury. On August 4, a group of ten esteemed United States Senators, led by Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Barack Obama (D-IL), sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates calling on him to enact official coverage of cognitive rehabilitation within the military's TRICARE health insurance program.

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has been instrumental in initiating the development of this letter and gaining the support of Congress on this critical issue.

A copy of the letter can be found on the BIAA website.

Why is it so important that TRICARE cover cognitive rehabilitation for our veterans who have sustained a traumatic brain injury? Access to this therapy is a basic element of the continuum of care for brain injury patients. Individuals who have incurred a TBI while serving their country deserve nothing less than the appropriate level of care based on currently accepted and widely utilized treatment modalities. Timely and effective treatment can greatly improve function and overall quality of life.

Click here for more information on the importance of coverage for cognitive rehabilitation.

The Association has been working throughout New York State to ensure that our wounded warriors receive the high-quality health care they deserve. For more on our efforts, see the Military/Veteran’s link to the left. Further information on Cognitive Functional Therapy, its purpose, and its importance, is available here.