Hoeven Joins Tuberville in Introducing HBOT Access Act

Senator Continues Efforts to Build on HBOT Pilot Program in North Dakota, Provide Veterans with Greater Access to HBOT Treatment

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Committee, today joined Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) to introduce the HBOT Access Act of 2021, legislation to make Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) an available resource for veterans suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) who have exhausted other treatment options.

This legislation is part of the senator’s efforts to expand HBOT access for veterans in North Dakota and across the nation. To this end, Hoeven has:

Secured the Fargo VA as only the fifth location in the nation to take part in the VA’s HBOT clinical demonstration program, giving access to this alternative treatment to veterans in North Dakota and western Minnesota diagnosed with PTS and who have yet to experience positive outcomes. In October, the delegation worked to expand the program to allow additional veterans to be treated at the Jamestown Regional Medical Center and extend the demonstration through September 2021.
Introduced the TBI and PTSD Treatment Act, legislation cosponsored by Senator Cramer that would expand HBOT as a VA-covered treatment for both PTS and TBI.
At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing today, affirmed Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough’s commitment to the HBOT demonstration program and urged him to help ensure this treatment option is available to veterans across the nation.

“We need to ensure that our veterans have access to the treatment and care necessary to help them recover,” said Senator Hoeven. “We worked for more than a year to bring HBOT access to veterans in North Dakota and Minnesota under the VA’s clinical demonstration program. Now, we’re working to advance legislation that will build on that pilot program and provide veterans across the nation with access to HBOT when traditional therapies aren’t delivering the outcomes our veterans need. The men and women who have served our nation deserve the highest quality care, and allowing HBOT as an option for veterans who continue to struggle with PTS or TBI will better provide them with access to the care they have earned.”

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