U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, is questioning the Department of Defense over about their continued failure to cover certain treatments for service members recovering from traumatic brain injuries and has opened an investigation into contracts that may have contributed to the Pentagon’s decision to deny coverage.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, McCaskill requested information about contracts awarded by TRICARE, the Defense Department’s medical insurance program for service members, to ECRI Institute, a health research organization, to study the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation therapy. A 2009 ECRI Institute study commissioned by TRICARE found insufficient evidence that this therapy was effective, but recent media reports by Pro Publica and National Public Radio have called into question the validity of the study. The reports have characterized the study as ‘deeply flawed’ and noted that it is in conflict with other similar studies on the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation therapy.
“If true, these reports raise significant questions regarding the Department’s award and management of the contract with ECRI Institute, and may have profound implications for hundreds of thousands of injured service members and their families,” McCaskill wrote. “We owe it to our brave service members to find the truth.”
Pro Publica and NPR reported that experts also questioned the methodology of the ECRI study, including the decision to exclude important research. Additionally, the same reports suggested the DOD may have awarded the $21,000 contract to ECRI Institute with the expectation they would reach the same conclusion as a 2007 ECRI review, which also concluded that there was limited effectiveness of this therapy.
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