INDIANAPOLIS— A state program meant to help struggling Indiana veterans will end on April 30, WRTV Investigates has learned.
Currently, Indiana veterans can receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for traumatic brain injuries as well as post-traumatic stress disorder through the state initiative, which launched in 2017.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is when a patient goes into a pressurized chamber and breathes 100-percent oxygen.
Getting more oxygen to the tissues that need it can help the body heal and fight certain infections, according to the federal FDA.
The FDA has cleared HBOT for more than a dozen conditions, including wounds and decompression sickness, however, the FDA has not approved the treatment for TBIs and PTSD.
Insurance typically won’t cover HBOT for traumatic brain injuries and PTSD, which can cost hundreds of dollars a session or more.
But as part of the state funded program through the Indiana Departments of Health and Veterans Affairs, Indiana veterans have been receiving the treatment for free.
“It’s been a game changer”: Indiana veteran says HBOT healed her
Libby Prifogle of Winchester says it can help heal the invisible wounds of war.
Prifogle served as an officer in the Marine Corps and was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and PTSD.
“I'd go to play piano, and I could read the music and I could tell my fingers to play these keys, but there was a disconnect,” said Prifogle. “My fingers would not react to what I was telling them to do."
Prifogle tried different treatments, but she says nothing worked.
"It was passed off as something I had to live with," said Prifogle.
Prifogle said she considered suicide “many times.”
She learned about hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) while reading a pamphlet at the American Legion.
Prifogle completed 40 sessions through the state HBOT program.
“It doesn't feel like a chamber because it's clear and you don't feel confined at all,” said Prifogle.
She can now play the piano again and her pain, depression and anxiety are more manageable.
“To finish the treatments and to see a difference in my everyday life, that's huge,” said Prifogle. “It's been a game changer for me. I feel like I'm living my life again, whereas before it was just surviving."
A total of 43 Indiana veterans have received treatment, completing a total of 1,216 dives, according to the Indiana Department of Health.
But Prifogle and other veterans can no longer receive HBOT through the state program, because its last day is April 30.
Legislation to save the program failed to advance at statehouse
Senator Jim Tomes, R-Mt. Vernon, authored Senate Bill 206, which would have extended the HBOT for veterans program.
“I’m a combat veteran,” said Tomes. “It’s not a jar of pills, it’s not an injection, it’s a really unique treatment.”
However, the Senate Appropriations Committee said no.
“I was disappointed,” said Tomes. “It does come down to money."
But Tomes pointed out Senate Bill 206 would have funded HBOT for veterans without taxpayer money.
Instead, it would have pulled funding from military license plate revenue.
The Military Family Relief Fund is meant to help veterans with food, transportation, housing and medical expenses.
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The pot of money keeps growing and currently has $14.4 million in it:
- Current MFRF balance =$2,573,589.95
- Current Veterans Affairs Trust fund balance =$11,851,833.05
HBOT for Indiana veterans would cost an estimated $1 million to keep the program running over the next two years, according to General James Bauerle.
"Eventually, you're going to have this pile of money and what are you going to spend it on?” asked Bauerle. “How are you going to spend it?"
General Bauerle has been pushing the state to get more veterans treated with HBOT.
He doesn’t understand why the Senate Appropriations Committee didn’t support it.
“My guess is they missed the nuance that it wasn't going to cost the state money,” said Bauerle.
WRTV Investigates reached out to the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Senator Ryan Mishler.
“Sen. Mishler said there was a funding increase to the HBOT program that he was not supportive of because of the fiscal concerns this year,” a spokesperson for Mishler said in an email to WRTV. “However, since the bill did not pass out of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs and The Military, he was not able to fully review and consider it for a hearing in the Senate Committee on Appropriations.”
General Bauerle says by not funding HBOT now, the state and the federal government will pay later in medical expenses for Indiana veterans.
"We issue a lot of prescription drugs to a veteran to treat the symptoms,” said Bauerle.
Carmel clinic owner disappointed in state’s decision
Meanwhile, states like Kentucky are ramping up HBOT programs for veterans.
“To hear Indiana wants to go backwards, it's maddening and it's mind-boggling,” said Kathleen Clark, the owner of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Clinic in Carmel, one of the few providers involved in the state program.
The clinic has treated dozens of veterans with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
“It’s actually getting the brain to function better,” said Clark.
Clark said she submitted names of treated veterans to the Indiana legislature for this year’s session.
“Nobody ever responded, which was really disappointing,” said Clark. “It’s like beating your head against the brick wall.”
She would like to invite lawmakers and policy makers to visit the clinic and talk to treated veterans.
“The state seems to treat this as experimental,” said Clark. “It’s not experimental anymore. The research exists.”
Indiana’s HBOT effort is tied to a Purdue University research study, where they performed MRI scans on veterans who participated.
Purdue released a 25-page preliminary report saying the therapy had a “positive effect” on participants.
However, other studies have found HBOT was no better than a placebo or sham treatment.
What happened to the money?
In 2017, the state set aside $1 million for the HBOT program.
WRTV Investigates found Purdue University spent nearly half of the money— $473,798 on “senior research personnel, graduate students, MRI time, study coordination costs, assessment tool design and other project related costs.”
The state spent $396,347 on HBOT treatment for veterans at hospitals and clinics.
Roughly $120,000 remains in the program, but it’s unclear what will happen to the money.
“I have a message in with the State Budget Agency inquiring about the path for unused funds, I have not yet received the answer,” said Joseph DeVito, Outreach Director at the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs, in an email to WRTV. “All remaining patients had time to complete the 40 dives before the program ends on April 30.”
Senator Jim Tomes plans to try to save the HBOT program during the 2026 legislative session.
“Nothing comes easy,” said Sen. Tomes. “I’m not giving up.”
Risks of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (according to FDA)
- Ear and sinus pain
- Middle ear injuries, including tympanic membrane rupture
- Temporary vision changes
- Lung collapse (rare)
