Congressional Office Assists Local Therapist Treating Military Servicemembers

This post is part of the Constituent Corner series sharing stories of successful casework outcomes for residents of the Second Congressional

Katherine Kennedy, M.Ed., LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist who maintains an independent practice in Mystic, CT. Her work as a therapist has impacted countless families facing personal struggle and hardship. She has also made it her mission to assist veterans and military personnel who are suffering from mental health challenges. Working from her office in Mystic, her proximity to the submarine base offers service members a convenient location to seek treatment. The veterans who see Katherine utilize their Department of Defense health insurance plan known as TRICARE.

My office first met Katherine in January of 2018 when she contacted us after TRICARE stopped payments for her services when she submitted a change of address form. By simply moving from one house to another, Katherine's payments from the insurance had been blocked. During this process, she continued seeing dozens of servicemembers seeking treatment and refused to turn any of them away even though she was not being paid.

Thankfully, an experienced caseworker in my Enfield office, Karen, jumped in and managed to help Katherine find her new TRICARE administrator and clear up the issue. This resulted in the payment of back claims and assurance that any new claims would be paid in a timely manner. Over the last few years, my office has returned millions of dollars to constituents just like Katherine, as well as $622,000 dollars to veterans through our constituent casework program. If you or anyone you know requires assistance working with federal agencies such as Social Security, Medicare or the VA, please call my Norwich office at 860-886-0139.