GAO Report Regarding Traumatic Brain Injury and the VA

Government Accountability Office Report
Released January 29, 2009

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY: Better DOD and VA Oversight Can Help Ensure More Accurate, Consistent, and Timely Decisions for the Traumatic Injury Insurance Program

In 2005, Congress created a traumatic injury insurance benefit program, known as TSGLI, to help service members with traumatic brain injury and other serious injuries with the financial burdens that they and their families face. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers the program, in collaboration with the Department of Defense (DOD), while the branches of service are responsible for deciding service members’ claims. GAO examined (1) the TSGLI approval rate for traumatic brain injury claimants, and whether DOD and VA have assurance that claims are processed accurately, consistently, and in a timely manner and (2) any challenges service members with traumatic brain injury may have faced in accessing TSGLI benefits, and the extent to which DOD and VA have taken steps to address such challenges. GAO analyzed program data and interviewed DOD and VA officials, service members, and medical professionals.

What GAO Recommends
GAO recommends that DOD and VA (1) implement a quality assurance review process to help ensure that decisions are accurate and consistent within and across the services and (2) take steps to ensure the data required to assess the approval rate for traumatic brain injury and timeliness of the claims process are reliable and comprehensive. DOD and VA generally agreed with our recommendations.
To view the full report visit http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09108.pdf