Bill > HR396

This bill, titled the TBI Treatment Act, establishes a five-year pilot program where the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs will pay for treatments for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for members of the Armed Forces and veterans, even if these treatments are received at facilities outside of military or VA medical centers. To qualify for payment, treatments must meet specific conditions, including the use of FDA-approved drugs or devices, approval by an institutional review board (a committee that reviews research involving human subjects), and demonstrated improvement in the patient through standardized testing, surveys, imaging, or clinical examination, with the patient's voluntary consent. The bill also mandates that the Secretaries jointly create and maintain a database of patient cases and report annually to Congress on the program's implementation, including the number of individuals treated, the success rates of different treatments, and recommendations for integrating successful methods into DOD and VA facilities. Furthermore, the VA Secretary will inform veterans with service-connected injuries or disabilities about this treatment opportunity, and the program is authorized to receive $10 million annually.