A Lost Battle

It has been almost a year since I spoke with Tricare about covering additional hyperbaric oxygen therapy for my husband’s brain injury. The treatment involves Bryan spending time inside a pressurized chamber where he breathes 100 percent oxygen. Studies suggest the treatment may help improve his cognitive skills lost in the blasts of Iraq. We felt that the therapy was working. Tricare told us they would cover it. We were thrilled.

Now, we have been told Tricare will not cover the massive bill and our lives have been a roller coaster ride. Medicare denied the claim and Tricare refuses to cover the treatments already rendered. We have lost this battle.

Tricare agents told us numerous times that the treatments would be covered once Medicare changed their denial code. However, now, we are being told different. A “Customer Care Agent” at Tricare did some digging and found out that the agency only covers the use of HBOT for the diagnosis of TBI for active duty. I am beyond upset. Tricare agents told us the wrong information over and over. We have tried to get legal help through Veteran’s Counsel but they can’t help us. We are stuck with the bill.

I have a wounded warrior wife friend who knows how to handle these issues and she graciously offered to help me write letters and keep sane. We wrote a demand letter to the hospital that treated him and asked for a settlement. We gave them 10 days to respond, but that day, September 6th has come and gone with no response. Our account has been sent to a collection agency. We were given no notice that this would happen. We were told repeatedly that the hospital was holding the account until we exhausted all the appeal processes. I hope every day that I will hear something, but I don’t.

I have contacted our congressman and he is trying to help. He has told us that he has made the appropriate phone calls and he will provide more information when he has it. If this doesn’t work I have no idea how we are going to pay the bill.

It is hard to not feel bitter, enraged, cheated, lied to and left high and dry for a bill that should be covered since Bryan sacrificed so much for this country. We received a grant from Healing Heroes Network to pay off the doctor’s portion of the bill. It was originally a much higher bill but once he found out it wasn’t being paid by insurance he reduced the bill. I can’t expect, nor would I ask, for non-profits to pay for a bill this enormous. This wrecks our plans, our financial stability and Bryan’s credit.

It is hard to not feel resentment that his injuries were not taken care of. This treatment gave us hope and our marriage back. We will work it out, we always do and we have one more person that might be able to help. I just feel disgusted. I feel like running away from this $20,924.00 bill.