New recommendations share how state brain injury programs can utilize CMS’ recent decision to include traumatic brain injury as a chronic health condition to expand services

In light of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recognizing traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a chronic health condition and adding TBI to its list of chronic conditions for chronic special needs plans (C-SNPs) through its Medicare Advantage program, the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) and National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA) have co-published a resource booklet with recommendations for state brain injury programs.

The new flip book, which can be viewed online here, provides an overview of policy changes and the practical implications of those changes, as well as information about how states can leverage the designation for additional Medicaid considerations or utilize the designation beyond Medicare and Medicaid programs.

“The inclusion of TBI to the list of chronic conditions by CMS is only a starting point to expanding access to care for people with brain injury,” said Rick Willis, President and CEO of BIAA. “By equipping state brain injury programs with additional tools, we can create greater recognition and awareness of the long-term effects of brain injury.”

“This resource provides an overview of the practical implications of the change and recommends how state brain injury programs can use the new designation to make the case for expanding support for people with brain injury through Medicaid,” said Rebeccah Wolfkiel, Executive Director for NASHIA.

Download the flipbook here.

Earlier this year, BIAA published Brain Injury: A Lifelong Journey, a position paper calling for CMS, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to designate brain injury as a chronic condition.

Formally designating brain injury as a chronic health condition has the potential to provide several advantages for people with brain injury, including the allocation of additional public health resources to focus on the lifelong effects of brain injury as well as health insurance plans, primarily Medicare and Medicaid, providing additional benefits and other supports as they do for other chronic health conditions. It also provides validation that brain injury is, for many people, not simply a one-time event with effects that become stable, but the beginning of a process of recurring or persistent effects that continue to change.

BIAA recently hosted a live webinar sharing information about the CMS designation and what it means for brain injury survivors, which can be viewed here.