VA Denies HBOT Coverage

VA Denies HBOT Coverage as Veteran Suicides Reach 155,000 Since 9/11

This emergency medical briefing uses evidence-based storytelling to drive policy change addressing why hyperbaric oxygen therapy—showing promising results in published research—remains unavailable to veterans with TBI and PTSD.

The Crisis: 22 veterans die by suicide daily. Since 9/11, over 155,000 veteran suicide deaths versus less than 8,000 combat fatalities in Iraq/Afghanistan combined. It is deadlier for a soldier to come home from war than to go to war.

The Treatment Gap: Published research by Dr. Paul Harch and others demonstrates promising HBOT outcomes for blast-damaged brains, documented through brain imaging. The VA does not provide coverage.

Legislative Action: Two bills currently in Congress mandate VA coverage:

• H.R. 1336 (Rep. Dr. Greg Murphy, R-NC)
• S. 2737 (Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-AL)

Fourteen states have already passed legislation supporting veteran HBOT access.

The Film: 16 years in the making, "Undeniable Evidence: Clean Medicine. Dirty Politics" (Best Documentary, Syracuse International Film Festival) features video transcripts from 2009 House Armed Services Committee hearings where Congress addressed HBOT for the Marine Corps and Navy. The documentary examines why, despite Congressional recognition 16 years ago, veterans still cannot access this treatment.

Panel Discussion Topics:

• Evidence-based medicine vs. institutional resistance
• The 2009 disconnect: Why did DoD ignore Congressional directive?
• Investigative angles: What happened between 2009 hearings and today?
• Congressional path forward for H.R. 1336 and S. 2737

Expert Speakers: Dr. Paul Harch - 40 years HBOT research for TBI. First-ever documented chronic brain injury improvement in medical science. Author, The Oxygen Revolution.

Juliette Lucarini-Harch, R.N. - Vice President, Harch Hyperbarics

John Salcedo - U.S. Army veteran, filmmaker. 16-year documentary project.

Limited seating. RSVP: [email protected]

November 18 | 6:00 PM doors | 7:00 PM screening | National Press Club - D.C.