Congress to investigate Pentagon’s decision to deny coverage for brain injured troops

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A key congressional oversight committee announced Friday that it was opening an investigation into the basis of a decision by the Pentagon's health plan to deny a type of medical treatment to troops with brain injuries.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), the chairman of the subcommittee on contracting oversight, said she wanted to examine a contract issued by Tricare, an insurance-style program used by soldiers and many veterans, to a private company to study cognitive rehabilitation therapy for traumatic brain injury. Such injuries are considered among the signature wounds of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq...

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IRS Says Health Care Coverage Fines Not Punitive, But Admits Govt Can Keep Refunds If Fines Not Paid

(CNSNews.com) – IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said on Monday that the health care bill signed into law last month by President Barack Obama is not “punitive,” but that the agency could withhold tax refunds if it determines a taxpayer does not have mandatory health care coverage and should pay a fine, as stipulated in the law.

The new health care law mandates that every American have health insurance, either on their own or through their employer. If a person refuses to buy health insurance, he can be penalized financially by the federal government...