The Cost of Treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries

Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries (mTBIs) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are two of the signature wounds of war. Due to the advances in technology the survival rates are higher than in previous wars, however, the weaponry has changed. The world has seen an increase in the use of suicide bombs, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) which increases the number of blast related injuries. One of the major problems with blast related injuries is that they can be invisible to the naked eye. The lack of physical evidence suggests the soldier is not injured and can be sent back into battle, when there could be an undetected internal injury. Due to the overlap in symptoms, many soldiers are being treated for PTSD instead of mTBI, which can cause long-term damage. In order to shed light on this issue, this thesis evaluates 2007-2008 active duty medical costs to determine the costs the PTSD and mTBI. The findings suggest that mTBI and PTSD account for .53% and 1.8%, respectively, of the 2008 population data sample. While this may seem like a small percentage this was only two months of data. However, it is important to properly diagnose mTBI and PTSD because these illnesses could cost the military member thousands of dollars in out of pocket medical costs.