#hbottreatment

PRESS RELEASE

Monday, 15 June 2026, TreatNOW.org, Washington, DC

The TreatNOW Coalition today released a Report to coincide with PTSD Awareness Month. The Case for HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy) as a VA Standard of Care Indication for TBI and PTSD, together with a companion piece on VA/DOD Interventions for TBI/PTSD, lay out specifics about the two decade medical doldrums in the VA/DOD.

The FDA last approved a drug for PTSD in 2001 — the same year as 9/11. None have been approved for TBI. In the 24 years since, while the VA has treated over 500,000 veterans with TBI and millions with PTSD, not a single new pharmacological treatment has been approved for the condition. Every drug the VA prescribes beyond sertraline and paroxetine is off-label. Both approved drugs carry FDA black box warnings for suicidal ideation and work only modestly better than placebo — and not at all reliably in combat veterans.

The VA's Booklet on PTSD continues the illusion that PTSD is a Mental Health problem alone, with no mention of the physical damage that may underlie PTSD symptoms. Thus, the Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) in place for co-occurring Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) emphasize better screening, careful medication management, and the use of trauma-focused psychotherapies. On the issue of a brain wound, the CPGs are silent.

As of June 2026, the VA library contains more than 30 active CPGs spanning mental health, rehabilitation, pain management, and chronic disease — none of which mention brain wounding, none include HBOT as a standard-of-care recommendation for TBI or PTSD, and none identify any FDA-approved pharmacological treatment for TBI; there aren't any. And, characteristically, both DoD and the VA hang on to woeful formularies and practices that cost more and fail to dent the suicide rate's upward trend. Something has to change.

Here is a quick Summary of what the TreatNOW Coalition recommends in this 12th year recognition of PTSD Awareness Month, a period that saw total suicides increase from 88,229 to over 160,000, an average of over 6,387 Veteran suicides every year.

Every day, between 17 and 22 American veterans die by suicide. That number has barely moved in twenty years — despite billions spent on VA mental health programming. We are here today to tell you why, and to tell you what will change it.

TBI and PTSD are not primarily psychiatric conditions. They can be and generally are brain wounds — physical injuries to living tissue that can be seen on MRI, measured on PET scan, and, critically, healed. The VA's current treatment model — pharmaceuticals, psychotherapy, coping strategies — cannot heal a physical wound. No antidepressant restores a shredded axon. No benzodiazepine rebuilds a hypoperfused hippocampus. The suicide rate will probably not move until we treat the wound itself.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy does exactly that. Under pressure, oxygen dissolves directly into plasma and reaches metabolically starved neurons that red blood cells can no longer reach. It triggers angiogenesis — the growth of new blood vessels into damaged tissue — documented in human brains on perfusion MRI. It regenerates white matter fiber tracts, confirmed by DTI imaging. It mobilizes stem cells from bone marrow. It reduces neuroinflammation. These are not theories. They are peer-reviewed findings, in randomized controlled trials, in veterans — published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, PLOS ONE, and Frontiers in Neuroscience.

The Israeli government — whose military sees the same blast injuries, the same PTSD, the same suicide risk — has recognized this evidence. Israel's Ministry of Defense now funds HBOT for veterans. The Sagol Center in Be'er Ya'akov treats 350 patients daily, with documented 68% significant improvement rates and PTSD remission lasting two years and beyond. Congressman Greg Murphy, himself a physician, asked the obvious question when he saw these results: "Why the hell are we not doing this in the United States? . . . . I believe it is medical malpractice not to offer this to our Veterans."

The VA's answer has been inertia. But here is the cost of that inertia — in numbers this Congress controls.

Our Brain Drain analysis quantifies the annual burden of untreated TBI and PTSD veterans at $118 billion per year — across disability compensation, VA healthcare, pharmaceutical costs, lost productivity, homelessness, incarceration, suicide, and ten other categories. There are 877,450 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans languishing in this condition right now.

The one-time cost to treat every one of them with a full HBOT course: $19.7 billion — less than one-half of one percent of the forty-year lifetime burden of doing nothing. The VA recoups that investment in under seven years at even the most conservative outcome assumptions. Dr. Paul Harch's clinical data shows 50% reduction in psychoactive medication use following treatment. Ten of twelve veterans with active suicidal ideation in his trial resolved that ideation entirely.

Here is the legal absurdity the Congress should understand: the VA already reimburses HBOT — for carbon monoxide poisoning (and 14 other conditions). The mechanism is identical. CO poisoning starves neurons of oxygen by blocking hemoglobin and mitochondrial enzyme function. Blast TBI does the same thing through different means. We treat one. We deny the other. That distinction is not medicine. It is policy inertia with a body count.

The TreatNOW Coalition has already returned more than 33,000 patients to work, school, and active duty — pro bono — using this therapy. Among them: over 12,500 veterans, including more than 700 Special Operations Warriors. We know it works. The peer-reviewed science shows it works. The only institution that has not acted is the U.S. Government.

The ask is straightforward: Pay for HBOT treatments in TreatNOW Coalition clinics and hospitals. Authorize pilot programs at Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence under the PATH Caucus framework. Amend CMS NCD 20.29 to include chronic TBI with documented metabolic dysfunction. Mandate neuroimaging-based outcome tracking. The evidence is there. The precedent is there. The fiscal case is unambiguous.

Too many veterans will die by suicide today. The question before this Congress is whether the number will be different tomorrow.

The answer, of course, is to do the right thing: TreatNOW

Our knowledge of brain wounds and how to heal them has “exploded” in the last decade. The medical universe is mired in old notions about the brain and how to heal brain wounds. We can help in their education by allowing and funding State hospitals and clinics to use HBOT to heal TBI/PTSD while Congress and the VA and DoD catch up.

HBOT Heals Brains, Stops Suicides, Restores Lives. TreatNOW

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE ONE HUNDRED NINTH LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA, SECOND SESSION: That the Legislature strongly urges members of the United States Congress to swiftly enact legislation to provide for veterans' access to treatments for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder that include hyperbaric oxygen therapy . . . .

PRESS RELEASE 9 April 2026, Arlington, VA

The office of Senator Kathleen Kauth in the Nebraska Legislature announced that LR293 received a vote of 43-0. The Resolution, on its way to the Governor for a signature, calls on the US Congress to "swiftly enact legislation to provide veterans' access to treatments for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder that include hyperbaric oxygen therapy." Nebraska becomes the 14th state to weigh in on the need for VA action to address the suicide crisis among Veterans .

Nebraska has about 115,000 Veterans. That number equates to over 20,000 Veterans suffering from undiagnosed or untreated brain wounds, with a multi million dollar per year financial burden on Nebraska citizens for untreated TBI/PTSD.

The Resolution recognizes that alternative therapies must be brought forward to do the job that the VA relegates to mental health, where drugs and talk therapy have proven inadequate to stem the suicide epidemic. Both the VA and the DoD call Suicide Prevention their #1 clinical priority and spend hundreds of millions of dollars in a losing effort to treat and heal TBI/PTSD. Veteran suicides since 9/11 now exceed 161,000.

The TreatNOW Coalition is helping in Nebraska and around the country to end suicides. We have learned that Hyperbaric Oxygen is uniquely capable of ending suicidal ideation. It helps end symptoms of PTSD, get patients off most of their drugs, and heal brain wounds. It heals the effects of Concussion, BLAST injury, mild TBI, Persistent Post Concussive Syndrome, and polytrauma from Operator Syndrome, AHI, and Burn Pits. No Veteran or civilian has ever been killed or hurt while undergoing HBOT treatment for TBI/PTSD.

TreatNOW provided support to the Nebraska legislature in understanding the magnitude of the challenge, and the safe and effective intervention available today. Facts matter:

- ~7,085+ U.S. service members killed in combat since 9/11 — ~53,000 wounded in action - 17.6 Veteran suicides per day - 61,000+ veterans have died by suicide since 9/11 — nearly 23 times the combat death toll - 109,000+ veterans have died from drug overdose — prescribed and otherwise — since 9/11 - 270,000+ total veteran deaths from suicide and overdose combined — nearly 38 times the combat death toll - 17.6 veterans die by suicide every single day — the VA’s own number — and the trend is UPWARD year over year - The veteran population has DECREASED by 10% over the same decade — making the rising suicide rate even more catastrophic in real terms - $5.375 billion spent by the U.S. Government on Suicide Prevention over the last ten years — with little improvement in outcomes - 877,000+ Veterans carry untreated brain wounds right now - 33,000+ brain-wounded veterans, athletes, first responders, and civilians have experienced enhanced quality of life through Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) — many returning to work, school, and active duty, reclaiming a future with freedom to choose, which the current, failed standard of care denied them - Fourteen states have passed legislation or Resolutions calling for the use of HBOT for veterans with TBI/PTSD; seven have allocated over $32M to get started. Five more states are moving in the legislative direction to do what the VA will not.  - 12,500+ Veterans have benefited from HBOT treatment for their TBI/PTSD - 180+ Coalition clinics delivering treatment across the country, many pro bono - 28 peer-reviewed studies confirming HBOT safety and efficacy for brain wounds - 85% recovery rate for mild-to-moderate TBI - 10 Secretaries of the Veterans Administration over 25 years have been informed about the science, safety, and efficacy of HBOT and still the institution refuses to offer it or even inform Veterans about its availability - Hundreds of drugs, devices, processes, computer programs and other interventions by DOD/VA/medicine DO NOT TREAT THE WOUND TO THE BRAIN, and ALL are used off label since none have been approved by the FDA for TBI, PTSD, Concussion, BLAST, or post concussive syndrome or polytrauma. None of the hundreds of drugs prescribed by the VA/DOD are approved by the FDA for brain wounds, and over a dozen warn of suicidal ideation. - Less than ½ of 1% — The ROI for the cost of HBOT treatment for 877,450 Veterans over a lifetime vs. the lifetime cost of no treatment. Projected untreated costs exceed $4.7 Trillion -  And unlike psychedelic and hallucinogenic and plant-based medicines like psilocybin and ayahuasca and ibogaine and MDMA and marijuana, HBOT is backed by decades of research, 28 clinical studies and proven safety and efficacy to treat and heal brain wounds, today. HBOT Heals Brains, Stops Suicides, Restores Lives. TreatNOW.

March is TBI Awareness Month, as the White House has reminded us. The Sea of Troubles at the VA and DoD is the suicide epidemic, their continuing #1 medical priority. It is also Academy Awards month. Up for Best Picture is HAMNET, named for William Shakespeare's son, and the background to his revenge tragedy, Hamlet.

Hamlet's reflections on Yorick's skull is focused on death and revenge. The "Sea of Troubles" for Hamlet was bringing justice to his father's murderer. For us and the families of the 159,000+ suicides, justice demands accountability for the Suicide Epidemic, and the memories of service members who died before their time. The links between suicidal ideation and untreated brain wounds is well-established. Less known are the links between Departmental indolence and negligence at the top. Some call it criminal negligence that so much money keeps getting thrown to failed policies, people, and programs as the suicide trends continue upward.

Congressman and physician Greg Murphy excoriated VA doctors sent to answer questions about the VA's failed record on TBI. TreatNOW has spent nealry two decades listening to the now-repetitious testimony of VA representatives sent to the Hill who mouth out-of-date statistics and "facts" about brain wounds and how to treat them. Worse, those same doctors tout programs that have failed tens of thousands of Veterans with undiagnosed and untreated brain wounds. $5.375 BILLION spent on "prevention" while suicides overwhelm Veterans. Fifteen months in, where's the accountability?

This week, one victim of those failures, a combat Veteran and Agency career ex-employee, called in tears, suicidal, nearly catatonic after viewing CBS 60 Minutes' most recent reporting on Havana Syndrome. Ten years of suffering, of being separated from their career, of being forced to pay for their own treatments, of disrespect, accusations of "malingering," inability to work, focus, remember, love, a victim of drugs-and-talk-therapy, and repeating the cycle all over again with each new flareup. For them, and thousands like them, expecting help from the VA or the USG is hopeless.

Investigative reporter Katherine Herridge has zeroed in on Directed Energy Weapons and the impacts on USG Intelligence Community employees and their families. Even she does not go far enough, failing to go beyond cataloging the destruction. She still fails to talk about how some lucky few have found relief and healing using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

Dr James Giordano, Director, Center for Disruptive Technology and Future Warfare, Institute for National Security Studies, and Dr. David Relman, MD of Stanford University, both talk about the real consequences of the damage caused by DEWs: loss of consciousness, seizures, mental lapses, inability to concentrate, headaches, intense pressure, pain, disorientation, and difficulty with balance. Intel Agencies and the LEAs have strained to substitute "causes" for a decades-long list of reported symptoms: atmospherics; the environment; a virus; crickets; preexisting conditions; and even mass hysteria.

Such shuck-and-jive is not new . The tactic is classic, mimicing the bafflegab in the past from Big Tobacco; the opioid crisis; the Pentagon Papers; and current spinning like the NFL on CTE; Veterans being denied proper diagnoses and disability for brain wounds; and the continuing charade that the VA is the Center of Excellence for TBI. There was a time, ten or 15 years ago when we didn't have a decade of science and evidence-based medicine, and clinical successes worldwide to demonstrate how to help treat and heal brain wounds caused by TBI, PTSD, Concussion, Havana Syndrome, and a myriad of other neurological and physical insults to the brain. And if the VA is the COE, why are Intrepid Spirit Center doctors sending brain wounded patients for HBOT with the comment: "Nothing we're doing for them is working"?

We know better. The science is sound. The results are demonstrable. It is no longer sufficient for doctors and legislators and military medicine to feign ignorance about the benefits of HBOT. At a minimum, HBOT should have an equal seat at the "alternative therapy" table. The Secretary talks about issuing vouchers to help Veterans get psychedlic help outside the VA. Congressman and retired USMC LTG Jack Bergmann thinks the Government needs to grow spines to overcome the do-nothing attitudes preventing getting help to Veterans. One wonders why the VA needs over a dozen studies on psychedelics? There's no ignoring a seeming crack in the wall-of-silence about the ineffectiveness of too many VA programs.

And remember: nothing the VA or DoD uses or does to control symptoms is on-label for TBI. We could learn from the Israelis who use HBOT for PTSD and TBI across the country and especially over the last decade for their brain wounded Veterans and active duty.

The VA needs to reread its own counsel, issued by their premier researchers over a decade ago. There is no appreciable evidence that anything has changed. Drs. Hoge and Jonas wrote: "It is clear that is a healing environment. . . . These findings reinforce the argument that effective interventions do not yet exist within the present structure of care or that routine postconcussion interventions within the Department of Defense or Veterans Health Administration may even have iatrogenic effects that contribute to symptom persistence . . . .” Iatrogenic: harm, illness, or adverse effects unintentionally caused by a physician, medical treatment, diagnostic procedure, or other medical activity.

They're losing. We're winning, just not fast enough. We need to work together. Veterans and active duty need help, and it's available. HBOT Heals Brains, Stops Suicides, Restores Lives. TreatNOW.

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The TreatNOW Mission is ending service member suicides. Along the way, we have learned that we can end suicidal ideation, help end symptoms of PTSD, get patients off most of their drugs, and heal brain wounds to end the effects of Concussion, BLAST injury, mild TBI, Persistent Post Concussive Syndrome, and polytrauma from Operator Syndrome, AHI, and Burn Pits. No Veteran or civilian has ever been killed or hurt while undergoing HBOT treatment for TBI/PTSD.

October 24, 2025 McLean, Virginia

MAJ Ben Richards (USA, Ret) knows two big things from his experience in Baqubah, Iraq in 2006-7. It he was to succeed with his mission of forging political bonds with warring factions, he had to understand their culture, and he had to build trust.

In what became an ingenious tactic born of his Mormon missionary work among the Chinese community in Canada years earlier, CAPT Richards took off his battle rattle, disarmed, and sat down with leaders of opposing forces to work out agreements. This cooperation with local Sunni Muslim militias became part of the Sunni Awakening, for years after a growing success.

CAPT Richard's daring insights were chronicled by Michael Gordon in the New York Times in 2007. The success of this and other tactics led to the introduction of female "cultural support teams" into the theater in 2009. They could go and learn where males could not.

The essence of the progression of the Awakening: know what you're doing by knowing the environment in which you're operating. To quote Sun Tzu: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

MAJ Richards became a war casualty. His saga with his brain wounds and journey back to a PhD and restoration of his family and his life are one story in hundreds of thousands. The difficulty is with what Nicholas Kristof called "how America is failing its soldiers and veterans, honoring them with lip service and ceremonies but breaking faith with them on all that matters most."

Little has changed in the VA in the years since Ben found Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. The "dialogue of the deaf" continues between suffering Veterans and representatives of the VA and DoD who cling to their inadequate standard of care. The longstanding protocols for dealing with "mental health" issues, to include both PTSD and TBI, remain known failures for complex, combat-wounded Veterans.

The VA's own reporting admits as much. In a 2020 report, First-line Psychotherapies for Military-Related PTSD, findings for military and veteran populations with PTSD include:

- First‐line trauma‐focused therapies like cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure therapy (PE) do not produce meaningful symptom reduction in a substantial fraction of combat patients - A large proportion remain persistently symptomatic, and many do not reach full remission. - Trauma-focused therapies may not perform substantially better than non‐trauma‐focused or supportive interventions in these populations, which is somewhat unexpected given their “gold‐standard” status in many guidelines. - Therefore, clinicians and policymakers should recognize the complexity of military‐related PTSD and consider flexible, perhaps stepped or combined treatment plans rather than assuming a single therapy will suffice for most.

These facts accompany the current damage being done to the VA through professional attrition. The VA has lost more than 6,000 clinicians since January: (nurses ~3,100; medical assistants ~1,300; doctors ~800; social workers ~500; psychologists ~150) as of August 2025. Another source states: in the first 9 months of FY 2025 the VA had 418 fewer registered nurses, 139 fewer medical officers/physicians, 107 fewer social workers, plus declines in other clinical occupations.

At the same time, the rate of severe reported staffing shortages is extremely high: ~79-94% of VA facilities report severe shortages for doctors and nurses, and many mental-health-related provider types are also highly impacted. These two facts together suggest that the VA’s ability to recruit and retain enough providers is under serious strain.

So here we are: ineffective treatments; shrinking professional staff; a continuing Veteran suicide epidemic; and over 877,000 TBI/PTSD Veterans in need of help.

Imagine for a moment that we treat the "Invisible Wounds of War" epidemic the way CAPT Richards confronted sectarian violence in Baqubah. How to quell the violence, understand the problem, and build trust among the factions, and unite for a common purpose?

Few who deal with individuals within the VA complain of mendacity or ill intent on the part of individuals. But the overall picture painted by thousands of Veterans who seek help outside that system paint a picture of a "deep state" culture in need of change. Consider some of the reporting: Wounding Warriors: How Bad Policy Is Making Veterans Sicker and Poorer; Mission Betrayed: How the VA Really Fails America's Vets; Broken Promises; It Shouldn't Be This Hard to Serve Your Country; Service Denied: Marginalized Veterans in the 20th and 21st Centuries; and the prize-winning reporting by Dave Philipps at the New York Times.

Experts who deal with seemingly intractable conflict -- think government shutdown -- come round to central principles in human relations. The quick messages are consistent: Effective negotiators unite empathy and principle. They expand the conversation and the possibilities. To create peace and make progress, it is imperative to uncover deeper human needs and uphold shared values.

In the next issue, we're going to explore A.I. assisted answers to a fundamental question for Veterans suffering from Invisible Brain Wounds: Beginning with the best books on negotiations aimed at peaceful resolution of differences, can you help me construct a strategy to negotiate with the Veterans Administration about how to treat brain-wounded Veterans with alternate, scientifically-proven therapies?

We intend to explore realistic paths forward that can make the VA and DOD real heroes to the Veterans so in need of help for their brain wounds. The Awakening has to happen on both sides, those that resist, and those that need to understand that resistance. We need to find ways to sit with decision makers to construct the roadmap to success.

Congress is going to come back into session, and we need to be ready with positive and negotiated answers to questions that will reduce suicides and transform medical practice regarding brain wound healing.

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The TreatNOW Mission is ending service member suicides. Along the way, we have learned that we can end suicidal ideation, help end symptoms of PTSD, get patients off most of their drugs, and heal brain wounds to end the effects of Concussion, BLAST injury, mild TBI, Persistent Post Concussive Syndrome, and polytrauma from AHI, Burn Pits, and COVID. No Veteran or civilian has ever been killed while undergoing HBOT treatment for TBI/PTSD. For a video Summary, see: https://www.youtube.com/@treatnowdotorg/videos  

September 30, 2025 Birmingham, Alabama

Col James Wright, MD (USAF, ret) testified before the Senate Alabama Field Hearing on Hyperbaric Oxygenation for TBI and PTSD (HBOT).  In his testimony he referenced a recent clinical study on Traumatic Brain Injury and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors among Post-9/11 Veterans.

That study states: "TBI appears to compound suicide risk in veterans: those who experience TBI are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than veterans without TBI . . . . This is particularly concerning given the prevalence of TBI in post-9/11 veterans . . . . Identifying who is most at risk of developing through examining associations between TBI and suicide related outcomes has the potential to inform more effective prevention strategies, improve the delivery of evidence-based care, and save veteran lives."

Dr. Wright is not the first to draw attention to a serious mismatch between DOD's and the VA's spending and their inability to bring down the increasing trend in suicides. The daily number is somewhere between 16 and 22 a day, depending on who is counting. VA's own numbers show over 157,000 Veteran suicides since 9/11. The "reverberating effects" of war that have led to at least 4.5-4.7 million deaths and counting, have seen over 6,000 Veteran deaths per year for over 20 years, now more than 22 times the number (7,053) of US service members killed in the war.

So much money has been thrown at "suicide prevention" strategies that it's hard to pin anyone down on "return on investment" or the apparent willingness to throw good money after bad. Put simply, the USG approach to Veteran suicides is to broaden outreach to Veterans and the 66,000 Veteran Service and community Organizations and enable them to pay better attention: "If you see something, say something."

The net effects of all the spending (over $5.375 Billion over the last decade) is to avoid a central truth: when you do not heal the brain wounds of combat Veterans, they are at higher risk for suicide.

Congress is once again awakening to the need to do things differently. Legislation calling for the use of HBOT for TBI/PTSD/Suicide Prevention under consideration in the House and Senate includes:

S.2737 - Veterans National Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Act. Senator Tuberville (R-AL) Introduced in Senate (09/09/2025)  It would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to implement a pilot program to furnish hyperbaric oxygen therapy to certain veterans through community care providers, and for other purposes.

S.862 - HBOT Access Act of 2025. Senator Tuberville (R-AL) Introduced in Senate (03/05/2025) It would amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish hyperbaric oxygen therapy to certain veterans with traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder.

H. R. 1336 - Veterans National Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Act. Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) (for himself, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia, Ms. Strickland, Mr. Wittman, Ms. Malliotakis, Ms. Ross, Mr. Van Orden, and Mr. Biggs of Arizona)  introduced February 13, 2025. It was voted out of the full Veterans Affairs Committee and is awaiting a full House vote. It directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot program to furnish hyperbaric oxygen therapy to a veteran who has a traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder. The language was incorporated in S.2737 by SEN Tuberville.

H. R. 72 - TBI and PTSD Treatment Act. Mr. Biggs of Arizona (for himself, Mr. Crane, and Mr. Gosar) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. The Bill would amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish hyperbaric oxygen therapy to veterans with traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder. It has gone nowhere.

TreatNOW is calling for the following revisions and additions in all Bills that would call for revision of safety provisions and establish immediate funding of treatments of eligible Veterans while conducting research. We also call for "informed consent," instructing the VA to tell every affected Veteran that HBOT is safe, effective and available to them.

1.   Incorporation of the recommendations in CBO Cost Estimate Report, June 11, 2025. CBO estimates that roughly 6,000 veterans would participate in the program at an average cost of $27,000 for a course of 40 treatments. The bill would establish a fund to accept donations for the program; however, CBO anticipates that contributions would be minimal and would not significantly offset the costs of the program. In total, CBO estimates that the temporary program would cost $158 million over the three-year period, and that funds are available to pay those costs using already appropriated funds.

2.   We are in general support of other amendments proposed by other organizations.

a.   Refine HBO2 Definition: Amend Section 4(e) to clarify eligible devices -- monoplace or multiplace chambers -- meeting ASME PVHO-1 and NFPA 99 standards, capable of delivering up to 3 ATA with 100% oxygen.

b.   Support compliance with ASME, NFPA, and FDA standards for all hyperbaric equipment.

c.   Support Ethical Research: Ensure studies are independent, IRB-approved, transparent, and designed to produce publishable, peer-reviewed data.

3.   Ensure the VA informs Veterans about the availability of HBOT for TBI/PTSD as one of the treatments available to them. Lack of informed consent prevents Veterans from knowing about HBOT as a safe and effective treatment.

HBOT. Heal Brains. Stop Suicides. Restore Lives. TreatNOW.

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The TreatNOW Mission is ending service member suicides. Along the way, we have learned that we can end suicidal ideation, help end symptoms of PTSD, get patients off most of their drugs, and heal brain wounds to end the effects of Concussion, BLAST injury, mild TBI, Persistent Post Concussive Syndrome, and polytrauma from AHI, Burn Pits, and COVID. No Veteran or civilian has ever been killed while undergoing HBOT treatment for TBI/PTSD. For a video Summary, see: https://www.youtube.com/@treatnowdotorg/videos  

"The days of kicking the can down the road and measuring VA’s progress by how much money it spends and how many people it employs — rather than how many veterans it helps — are over." VA SEC Doug Collins , March 2025 VA Status Update March 11, 2025 Arlington, VA When the U.S. Veterans Affairs medical complex in Aurora, the "calamity," finally opened in July 2018, a decade behind schedule and more than $1 billion over its initial budget, it was already the most expensive VA hospital in the country. Three years later, costs to get the 11-building, 1.2 million-square-foot, 31-acre medical campus operating pushed the total tab to more than $2 billion. The June 2004 estimated built cost was $328 Million. Luckily, they finally added the multimillion dollar PTSD wing that had been scrubbed. Astonishing news, given the links between PTSD/TBI and suicidal ideation, and the multiyear declaration by the VA that Suicide Prevention is their #1 clinical priority. Doug Collins, the new Secretary of the VA, is currently overseeing an organization with a DOGE goal to return the agency to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000. That would mean cutting about 82,000 staff, nearly 25% of whom will be Veterans. In 2024, ProPublica reported on "How the VA Fails Veterans on Mental Health." Experts told ProPublica the failures revealed in the inspector general reports point to broad problems, including inadequate mental health staffing, outdated policies and the inability to enforce high standards across a large, decentralized health care network. The VA/OIG reports these major complaints regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): - Gross Mismanagement: This includes poor administration and oversight of VA programs and operations. - Waste of Funds: Misuse or inefficient use of government resources and taxpayer dollars. - Abuse of Authority: Instances where VA officials misuse their power or position. - Violation of Laws, Rules, or Regulations: Activities that go against established legal or regulatory standards. - Substantial and Specific Danger to Public Health or Safety: Situations that pose a significant risk to the well-being of veterans or the public. One typical example: the VA's Electronic Health Record. The first effort to modernize the system began in 2001. The estimated cost then was $11 billion, and it was expected to be completed by 2018. Between 2001 and 2018, approximately $1.1 billion was spent. However, after three unsuccessful attempts, the VA initiated its fourth effort—the EHRM program—in 2018 with a 10-year, $10-16 billion contract with Cerner to replace its legacy system. The Institute for Defense Analyses now projects that full deployment across the VA network could exceed $37 billion, with a shifting date for completion. Certainly the VA is little different from other large organizations with respect to cost overruns and cultural sclerosis. The new Secretary, like all others before him, will be hot-washed by internal researchers and staffers holding the line against new science that exposes shortcomings in their $186 million investment to draw false conclusions on the healing powers of HBOT. This from an organization that is nearly 3,000 professionals short in the very field where the need is greatest. There is a culture in the VA that resists change, particularly with respect to rethinking their attitudes about Mental Health, suicides, brain wounds, and scientifically-proven alternative therapies. Why else spend $571 Million on Suicide Prevention in 2024 while the rate increases, but allocate zero dollars healing brain wounds and eradicating suicidal ideation? Consider this chart:

"Like other studies of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) for adverse sequalae after brain injury, our double-blind study found that a course of HBO2 improved clinically meaningful outcomes." Dr Lindell Weaver, MD Science Update March 1, 2025 Kaua'i, Hawaii The latest clinical study on the use of Hyperbaric Oxygenation (HBOT) to treat and help heal brain wounds and reduce symptoms from brain injuries showed positive results. The journal Scientific Reports this week published A double-blind randomized trial of hyperbaric oxygen for persistent symptoms after brain injury. The study of 47 brain wounded patients was overseen by Dr Lindell Weaver. Dr. Weaver was the principal author of another positive clinical trial in 2018 when 71 patients showed similar improvements in the BIMA study. This study is the 18th Clinical Trial among 27 peer-reviewed studies that all show the positive effects of HBOT for treating and helping heal brain wounds from TBI/PTSD. The TreatNOW Coalition and its affiliated 160+ free-standing HBOT clinics have helped over 31,000 fortunate patients with TBI/PTSD recover from brain wounds. Among those are over 12,000 Veterans, including over 700 Special Operators. During this same twenty year time period, over 153,000 Veterans have succumbed to suicide, and over 110,000 Veterans have died due to drug overdoses, too many of them under VA care and using prescribed drugs that warn of suicidal ideation. There is a strong correlation between untreated brain wounds and suicidal ideation. Symptoms of PTSD and TBI include: headaches, dizziness or balance problems, blurred vision, tinnitus, tiredness/fatigue or sleep problems, seizures, remembering things or solving problems, managing stress or emotional upsets, controlling temper/irritability, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and post-traumatic stress. Evidence-based medicine, clinical outcomes, 18 clinical trials, and hundreds of studies confirm that hyperbaric oxygenation works where little done by the VA and DoD is effective to stanch the upward trending suicide epidemic. Over 877,450 brain wounded post-9/11 service members are untreated and/or misdiagnosed as suffering from mental health problems, not actual physical wounds to the brain. A second clinical trial late last year produced equally positive results. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Veterans With Combat-Associated Post traumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized, Sham-Controlled Clinical Trial fills the alleged void claimed by the VA and DoD that "evidence" was lacking to recommend HBOT for PTSD and TBI. It is worth quoting the study: "In 2018, the Veterans Affairs (VA) evidence-based synthesis program for TBI and PTSD stated that, based on the data available up to 2018, it was difficult to make clear decisions regarding the use of HBOT for PTSD and that further research in this field is needed. In 2023, the VA/ Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD stated that the available studies suggested a benefit for HBOT on the outcome of PTSD; however, the absence of an adequate control condition limits the confidence in these results. The present data, together with previous studies in the same population, fill this gap and may thus support the recommendation of future guidelines for providing HBOT to many veterans with PTSD who are refractory to first-line recommended treatments." Put another way, failures by the VA and DoD to treat and heal brain wounds can be overcome by the use of HBOT. Patients get better. And data from 2- and 3-year follow ups demonstrate that the effects are long-lasting. HBOT represents a proven therapeutic approach for TBI/PTSD, targeting the biological, physical consequences of traumatic events and BLAST injury. This randomized sham-controlled trial demonstrates that HBOT can improve brain connectivity and alleviate TBI/PTSD-related symptoms in veterans with combat-associated PTSD and TBI. Taken together, data from the most recent studies confirm the treatment’s safety profile. Efficacy, demonstrated over the last twenty years, supports the immediate use of HBOT for veterans not responding to psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and the myriad other non-proven and non-FDA approved interventions that allow the suicide epidemic to continue upward. The roadblock is politics, not science or medicine. And let us not forget the mismanagement of BLAST casualties for the last quarter century in the VA. Since 1990 at least, the definitive therapy for BLAST exposure is HBOT. Ignoring established textbook science needs to be investigated. As important, however, is the mountain of evidence and science that demonstrate the role that HBOT should be playing in treating and healing brain wounds.