Testimony Presenting LD 1196

Today I testified in support of a piece of legislation I co-sponsored, L.D. 1196 An Act To Clarify Assistance for Persons with Acquired Brain Injury. Below is my testimony:

Good afternoon, Senator McCormick, Representative Strang-Burgess and distinguished colleagues of the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services, I am Matt Peterson and I represent District 92 which includes the Oxford County towns of Andover, Byron, Roxbury, and Rumford, as well as the Franklin County communities of Weld and plantations of Rangeley and Sandy River plus the unorganized territories of West Central Franklin and Madrid Township. I am here today as a co-sponsor to support L.D. 1196 An Act To Clarify Assistance for Persons with Acquired Brain Injury.
I want to commend my colleague and friend, Representative Goode for submitting this important piece of legislation and thank him for asking me to join him as a co-sponsor of this significant initiative.

As you have already heard, this proposal amends existing statutory language to more fully recognize both the issues and the appropriate responses to acquired brain injury, something which, unfortunately impacts many Maine citizens and their families. I know you will hear more in a few minutes from the advocates and those with greater expertise on this significant health issue, but let me just point out that it is very appropriate for us to make these changes as a means to recognize not only the severity of acquired brain injury and its impacts on our citizens and Maine families, but also suggest that the state has an ongoing role to play in identifying and providing resources to mitigate the impacts of this condition on our people.

One of the tragic consequences of our recent involvement in the asymmetrical conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq has been a sharp increase in the number of returning service personnel who are coming home with an acquired brain injury as a result of their service to our country. The growth in frequency of acquired brain injury among our service members has led to a greater recognition of the impact of this condition on many other citizens who must deal with the consequences of the condition in their everyday lives.

This expanded recognition is another important step in coming to grips with the impacts that acquired brain injury has on the lives of Maine citizens and families. Representative Good’s proposal moves us a step along the path of assisting our citizens in facing and dealing creatively with this condition by acknowledging both new approaches to assisting individuals impacted by acquired brain injury, as well as preserving their rights, especially in instances where those rights may have been suspended as a result of the appointment of a guardian by the courts.

I am sure we all want the best for these citizens, and LD 1196 is another important step toward meeting that goal. I will not take up more of the Committee’s time unless you have questions for me. I look forward to working with you during our work session on this LD.