Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ traumatic brain injury, treatment and subsequent therapy have opened the debate over access to high-quality care following a brain injury.
Anne Forrest is one of the hundreds of thousands of people who are recovering from a traumatic brain injury. She’s also one of the people whose treatment following her injury looked much different from that of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Congresswoman Giffords is recovering in a state-of-the-art rehab facility in Houston. Her staff said her federal employee health benefits afford her an unlimited amount of rehabilitation and treatment, including cognitive rehabilitation, where patients re-learn how to perform basic daily tasks.
Forrest, however, went three years after her traumatic brain injury before she found similar care.
“I had insurance and I should have been prepared for a rainy day,” Forrest said. “And instead just fell through a lot of safety nets where people weren’t helping- things that thought I could rely on weren’t there.”
Members of Congresswoman Giffords’ staff joined with New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-New Jersey) Thursday to try to change that.
“We want all brain injury patients to have a fair chance at recovery,” Pascrell said.
They said at a press conference they have written letters to every member of Congress and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, asking that medical care like Giffords’ be extended to everyone through health care reform.
Dr. Brent Masel of the Brain Injury Association of America outlined what that means.
“Treatment to promote brain remodeling and reorganization through physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and neurospyschological therapy,” Masel said. “That’s what cognitive rehabilitation is.”
Masel said cognitive therapy could cost between $700 and $1500 per patient, per day. But Masel said he believes the benefits of the therapy far outweigh the costs by preventing future problems.
“I hope we’re not going to question the money that is necessary,” Pascrell said.
Since Forrest found proper treatment, she said her life has turned around completely, and she hopes others will have quick access to the treatment she almost didn’t find.
“I don’t think health care in America should be doled out based on how persistent you are,” Forrest said.