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(Rockville, MD - March 30, 2009) With the recent tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson bringing traumatic brain injury (TBI) to the forefront, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is calling on insurers to once again provide adequate coverage for people in need of rehabilitation services due to traumatic brain injuries.
A 2007 poll conducted by Zogby International of ASHA-member speech-language pathologists (SLPs) found a high percentage feel that inadequate health insurance is limiting their ability to provide care that is consistent with recognized standards. Meanwhile, nearly 70% reported that as much as one-fourth of the patients they see with mild TBI were referred 6 months or more postinjury, and more than half said the delayed referrals reflect the failure of other health care providers to identify problems or refer to an SLP. The entire poll results can be found on ASHA's Web site.
"The poll also shows that as many as one half of the patients our members see with TBI were denied coverage of some aspect of their services," ASHA President Sue Hale says. "ASHA will continue to advocate to insurance companies the important role our members play in TBI rehabilitation."
The poll was part of an ASHA initiative, Civilian TBI: The Other Story, and offered a podcast addressing TBI featuring ASHA-member and SLP Kathy Manning, MA. Early in the podcast Manning addresses the sometimes misleading term "mild" when describing a TBI. "The term ‘mild’ misrepresents the severity of symptoms that people experience following TBI," explains Manning. "Those with mild TBI actually experience a host of fairly serious and long-term problems if they don't have a recovery within the first few weeks or months."
Manning further explains during the podcast that TBIs are sometimes not understood by the public and the medical community, as the poll results reflect, with the exception of rehabilitation professionals. She says persistence is key for a patient who is seeking care, but is being denied coverage by their insurance company. "Don't take no for an answer. I think that we really have to be cognizant of the appeals process...and read the small print," according to Manning. "It's important to document well, particularly in terms of the functional changes and specific goals, but also in terms of the complexity of what we're providing."
More recently, ASHA has been active on the TBI front in a couple of ways. ASHA and BrainLine.org have begun collaborating on the BrainLine site to highlight the contributions made by SLPs and audiologists to persons with TBI. BrainLine, a service of WETA, the public TV and radio station in Washington, DC, is a national multimedia project offering information and resources about preventing, treating, and living with TBI. Recently ASHA was featured on BrainLine’s "Ask The Expert" on the topic of hearing loss and TBI. ASHA also was an exhibitor at the Brain Injury Awareness Fair on Capitol Hill on March 25.
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About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 130,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
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