Pain management help for U.S. soldiers

DAYTON, Ohio, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- In time for Veterans Day, a U.S. health group announced many who served in the military will again have the cost of some pain treatments covered.

Members of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians -- a physicians group promoting the development and practice of interventional pain management -- said they have successfully led an effort to convince TRICARE -- the health insurance provider for many active and retired members of the U.S. military -- to restore coverage for pain treatments such as lumbar and cervical facet joint denervations and thoracic epidural injections.

These treatments, say the physicians, offer a cost-effective alternative to more invasive surgical procedures and chronic prescription medications. The physicians joined with government officials to oppose TRICARE's decision last year to discontinue coverage.

"Since the restoration of interventional pain management coverage by TRICARE, veterans, who comprise a significant percentage of my practice, are again able to receive the treatments some have been waiting nearly a year to receive," Dr. Ricardo Buenaventura, a former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, said in a statement.

"It's only fitting that the decision came as we are approaching Veterans Day. Many members of our military will have the benefit of a significantly improved quality of life."