A Partial Victory in Our FOIA Request—But Government Still Hasn’t Provided All the Records
Tricare provided ProPublica and NPR with some, but not all, of the reviews criticizing a Tricare study finding that cognitive rehabilitation therapy has not been proven effective.
Soldiers assigned to 1st Platoon, Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2 conduct a security and presence patrol. ProPublica and NPR continue to pursue a FOIA request for the reviews of a Tricare study that found that cognitive rehabilitation was not very effective for soldiers suffering from traumatic brain injuries. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. David Hernandez /Released)
In honor of Sunshine Week in Washington, D.C., here's an update on our effort to pry information out of the government to explain why Tricare, the Pentagon’s health plan, has refused to cover certain kinds of treatment for traumatic brain injuries.
Nearly a year ago, we asked Tricare to give us reviews of a study it commissioned that criticized cognitive rehabilitation therapy, an expensive treatment for brain-injured soldiers. Officials with the agency denied our Freedom of Information Act request, telling us the reviews weren't government records. Since we had obtained copies of the reviews, and had written a story on the topic, we thought Tricare's decision was wrong. We appealed -- and got a partial victory this week.
In a letter responding to our appeal, Tricare officials told us they had conducted another search that "found" three private sector peer reviews. They acknowledged that the reviews were "agency records." They provided redacted copies of the reviews, which were critical of Tricare's study. One called the Tricare study "deeply flawed."
Tricare still has not produced two other reviews. ECRI, the health assessment contractor that carried out the study, had two scientists review its findings. According to a spokesman, ECRI provided Tricare with copies of those reviews along with the study, but Tricare did not provide us with copies of them. ECRI and other sources have told us that they, too, are critical of ECRI's findings.
So, we've decide to file yet another appeal. In addition to the two missing reviews, we are asking -- again -- for a copy of the contract between Tricare and ECRI.
When Round Two has a result, we'll let you know.
Brain Wars: How the Military Is Failing Its Wounded
The military has failed to diagnose brain injuries in thousands of soldiers returning from overseas.
The Story So Far
Traumatic brain injury is considered the “signature wound” of soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Official military statistics show that more than 115,000 soldiers have suffered mild traumatic brain injuries since the wars began. Shock waves from roadside bombs can ripple through soldiers’ brains, causing damage that sometimes leaves no visible scars but may cause lasting mental and physical harm.
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3 comments
Borbacki
March 14, 2011, 8:40 p.m.
The entire area of traumatic brain injury and behavioral health is shrouded in mystery and intrigue. GAO reports DCoE’s accounting is questionable. Mulitple TBI/BH studies that will not generate results until 2015 or further out. Mace the field screening tool is only now being validated. ANAM, the baseline product for TBI, has never been validated. Billions spent with little or nothing to show for it. Who got the contracts and what was really bought.
Drug addiction is rampant, TBIs were never identified or treated, PTS is common and untreated, families falling apart, suicide is common and under reported. Medcom does not want to deal with what was so predictable. If I never find them, I don’t need to pay for them. Medcom can then divert resources to projects that benefit friends and family.
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March 15, 2011, 10:11 a.m.
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gregory zurbay
March 16, 2011, 4:45 a.m.
TBI has been treated long before any US soldier ever served in Iraq. During the Bush administration the leading brain injury hospital in the USA offered to help the government identify and treat brain injuries, there never was any response to the offer.
The only conclusion we can reach? Business as usual. Ignoring experiments on GI’s (nuclear fallout) - the effects of agent orange, the gulf war chemical soup, burning pits in Iraq, IT IS ALL THE SAME - the highest level of military command is steadfast in presenting concern and commitment, unless it requires spending funds they would rather spend on the newest gee-whiz armament.
How many examples does it take? No body armor when invading Iraq, Rumsfeld canceling the order for mine resistant vehicles in 2001, the failure to upgrade to a new rifle because Colt had friends in high places…...
The soldier deserves the BEST if we ask them to be in harm’s way - too bad the far right is at it’s best when tearing up about how their taxes are too high….
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