Brain Injury Lawyer - New York

Brain Injury Professional Symposium

The Brain Injury Association of New York State (BIANYS) will be hosting a full day professional symposium, Latest Developments in Brain Injury: Identification, Rehabilitation and Treatment on June 4, 2015 in Albany, New York at the Marriott Hotel.  

I am co-chair of this program along with Steven Flanagan, M.D. Professor and Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center.

The program is intended for all professionals involved in brain injury identification, treatment and rehabilitation.  It brings together some of the leading experts to discuss issued of brain injury epidemiology; sports concussions; cerebral imaging and traumatic brain injury; the role of neuropsychology in brain injury; management of behavioral problems; support for caregivers and family members and the latest research. 

Further information can be obtained at the web site of the Brain Injury Association of New York State.

NY Times Editorial--Parents Need to Make Important Decisions When It Comes to the Risk of Head Injury and Brain Damage

Today's New York Times contains an important editorial on the silent dangers of concussions while engaged in any contact sport.  http://snip.ly/Bwhl

Here is a portion of that editorial:

Beyond the pro game, the decision by Mr. Borland to quit after one season to protect his health should be carefully noted by parents of the hundreds of thousands of youngsters eager to play each year at the peewee, high school and college levels. Research published in January in the medical journal Neurology found that former professionals who started playing before the age of 12 performed “significantly worse” in mental dexterity tests than those who began tackle football later, according to a study by the Boston University School of Medicine. Even in the absence of diagnosed concussions, high school players showed measurable brain changes after just a single season of tackle play, according to a separate study last December by the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Immediate Affects of Concussions Not Always Apparent

A new study published in  in the American Journal of Sports Medicine examines the performance of baseball players following their return to play after a concussion.  Concussions may linger among professional baseball players

Then dangers of football encompass more than CTE

I am honored to have been consulted by the New York Daily News for my opinions on the dangers of brain injury while playing professional football.   

Chris Borland-NFL's Worst Nightmare: The Reality of Football and Brain Injury

Today's New York Times reports on Chris Borland and his decision to retire from professional football.

This is precisely the nightmare that the league has dreaded would occur.  The more information players obtain, the more players will decide that the risk of permanent brain damage is just not worth the reward.  This is just the beginning.  And you wonder why the NFL has worked so hard to minimize the risks and is working so hard to create an illusion they can make the game safe?

 

Urgent Message from Brain Injury Association of America-Repeal Medicare Therapy Cap

The following urgent request was received today from the Brain Injury Association of America

URGENT!  We Need Your Help to include Therapy Cap Repeal in the Final SGR Package!  Call Your House Representative Today!

The U.S. House of Representatives is currently negotiating a permanent policy to fix the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula in order to prevent a 21% cut in Medicare provider payments. 

Although we support passage of necessary SGR reform, we remain concerned that an extension of the current exceptions process rather than a full repeal of the Medicare therapy cap may be included in this legislation.  

This is a threat to YOUR access to necessary therapy services if there is no longer a legislative vehicle to pass further extensions or repeal of the therapy cap.  

BIAA remains active with Congress as these negotiations move forward but we need your help to weigh in with you legislators to ensure a full repeal of the theray cap is included in any final permanent SGR deal.

WHAT YOU CAN DO - CALL YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE AND ASK FOR THE HEALTH LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT: 

US Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121

 

MESSAGE:

• As you can imagine, all  of us in the brain injury community are concerned about the possibility of      permanent SGR moving without addressing permanent therapy cap repeal and      reform especially given the several years of work that the committees and      external stakeholders have put into finding a thoughtful solution. 
• Therapy cap repeal,  although an "extender" directly impacts patient's access to  necessary rehabilitation needed after a brain injury to treat many chronic conditions. 
• Therapy cap repeal legislation has consistently garnered significant bipartisan support with 225 cosponsors in the 113th Congress. 
• The committees of jurisdiction and therapy community last year came up with a repeal policy that would replace the therapy cap with a more appropriate utilization control that would cut the cost of full repeal by 1/3. 
• Without a permanent fix  through SGR, there would be no vehicle in the future to address this issue      which is a barrier to patient access to rehabilitation effecting 1 million  beneficiaries each year.
• Therapy cap repeal provisions included by the Senate Finance committee SGR bill last year must be      included in any SGR repeal moving forward

Please call your Representative TODAY and help prevent implementation of a hard cap on therapy services before March 31, 2015. 

 

Brain Injury Association of America Legislative Update

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has released the following legislative update:

March 6, 2015

BIAA Releases 2015 Legislative Issue Briefs

This week, BIAA released the 2015 legislative issue briefs highlighting BIAA's legislative agenda. The legislative issue briefs include Strengthen Federal and State TBI Programs, Increase Access to Care for Individuals with Brain Injury, Keep Individuals with Brain Injury Financially Solvent and Caregivers Strong, Advance and Accelerate Brain Injury Research, Grow the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, and Improve Awareness and Understanding of Brain Injury. The legislative issue briefs can be found here. 

Brain Injury Awareness Day on Capitol Hill

Please join the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, chaired by Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), and the Brain Injury Association of America for Brain Injury Awareness Day on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. The schedule of events for the day:

10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.         Brain Injury Awareness Fair First Floor Foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building

2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.           Briefing: Finding a "New Normal": Post-Injury Supports and Services That Make a Difference         

121 Cannon House Office Building

Bobby Silverstein
Moderator
Principal, Powers, Pyles, Sutter, & Verville

Mac Fedge
TBI Survivor 

Kathy Fedge
TBI Family Caregiver

William Ditto
Chair of the NASHIA Public Policy Committee

Matt Breiding, PhD
Commander, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
Traumatic Brain Injury Team Lead

David Williamson, M.D.
Neuropsychiatrist & Medical Director, Inpatient Traumatic Brain Injury Program,
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center 

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.           Reception Celebrating Brain Injury Awareness                                                           Month  B-339 Rayburn House Office Building

Plan to attend to network with other national and federal agencies and to visit with your Members of Congress regarding key issues affecting brain injury. Please stay tuned to BIAA's website under the government affairs for more information.

House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Meetings

This week, BIAA and NASHIA staff met with the majority and minority staff of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education to discuss moving the federal TBI state grant program from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to the Administration on Community Living (ACL). The meetings were positive and staff was receptive to the TBI stakeholders' request.

 Assisting Caregivers Today Caucus

Representative Black (R-Tenn.), Representative Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), Senator Ayotte (R-N.H.), and Senator Bennet (D-Colo.) launched the Assisting Caregivers Today Caucus on March 3, 2015. The goal of the caucus is to bring greater visibility to the value of and need to support family caregivers, as well as the challenges and opportunities individuals of all ages face as they seek to live independently. The caucus aims to inform Members of Congress about these issues, elevate the conversation, forge an environment and context conducive to reaching bipartisan solutions, and help create a sense of urgency to act. Please ask your elected officials to join the Assisting Caregivers Today Caucus.

March 2015 Brain Injury Legislative Summary

The Brain Injury Association of America has prepared the following federal legislative summary:

Brain Injury Awareness Day on Capitol Hill

Please join the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, chaired by Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), and the Brain Injury Association of America for Brain Injury Awareness Day on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. The schedule of events for the day:

10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.         Brain Injury Awareness Fair
First Floor Foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building                                                      

2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.           Briefing: Finding a "New Normal": Post-Injury Supports and Services That Make a Difference
121 Cannon House Office Building

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.           Reception Celebrating Brain Injury Awareness Month 
B-339 Rayburn House Office Building

 

BIAA's President/CEO Presents on behalf of the Coalition to Preserve Rehabilitation

Susan Connors, president/CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America, joined with members of the Coalition to Preserve Rehabilitation in presenting to attendees of the American Medical Rehab Providers Association spring meeting in Washington, D.C. Ms. Connors described the challenges individuals with brain injury and their family members experience when trying to access post-acute rehabilitation at inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and units as well as residential rehabilitation facilities and out-patient clinics.

BIAA serves on nine advocacy coalitions in Washington, D.C. and serves as a steering committee member for the Coalition to Preserve Rehabilitation (CPR). The CPR is a coalition of national consumer, clinician, and membership organizations with the goal of preserving access to rehabilitation services. CPR advocates for policies that ensure access to rehabilitative care so that individuals with disabilities, injuries, or chronic conditions may regain and/or maintain their maximum level of independent function.

Therapy Cap Repeal Legislation Introduced in the United States Senate

This week, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to repeal the Medicare outpatient rehabilitation therapy caps, S. 539, was introduced in the  by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). The bill is cosponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.).

The House of Representatives recently introduced legislation to fully repeal the current monetary caps on Medicare therapy services. The Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act, H.R. 755, led by Reps. Charles Boustany (R-La.), Xavier Becerra (D-Ca.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Lois Capps (D-Ca.), would permanently remove the limits that Medicare places on physical and speech-language therapy combined and occupational therapy. While there is an exceptions process designed for medically necessary therapy, it has been a burden and insufficient to protect access to care. 

The Brain Injury Association of America works with the Therapy Cap Coalition in Washington D.C. throughout the year to repeal the therapy cap. BIAA grassroots has played a key role in the work to repeal the therapy cap. Please contact your Member of Congress today and ask him or her to address a permanent solution to the Medicare therapy caps before March 31, 2015, when the current exceptions process will expire. You can reach your representative by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.