So much in Trenton is about politics - especially as June winds down to next year's budget deadline.

Yet, there are still issues bobbing up and down that have more to do with basic human needs than the polarization of the day.

One of them has to do with how people with serious brain injuries are treated.

To that end, a bill with bipartisan support is before relevant committees in both Houses. That would be the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

The issue here is a serious one.

Let's look at a young Jersey resident named Gregory, who was struck by a car more than two decades ago and seriously injured. He was in a coma for six months and his life was permanently altered by a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a stroke that paralyzed his right side.

Gregory is one of about 350 people with severe brain injuries receiving care in community residential settings across New Jersey.

"Each day, they attend structured day programs where they participate in rehabilitation, skill-building, and community engagement. In many cases, these programs are shared with people  from the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), in the same settings, with the same staff, and the same level of supervision."

That, according to Neuro Restorative, a national provider of therapeutic and rehabilitation care.

But that's not the story.

The news here is about money.

Again, according to Neuro Restorative:

"For every hour a provider serves a DDD individual in these day programs, the state reimburses them up to $93.96.

TBI individuals receiving the exact same care, the reimbursement rate is a staggering $14.60 per hour. This is not a difference in care delivery. It is a difference in how the state values and funds."

This is not a secret.

In fact, the aforementioned bill - S438 and A4485 - is designed to solve the problem by raising the reimbursement rate for traumatic brain injury patients to the same level as DDD individuals. This would cost between $3.4 million and $9.1 million annually, according to the state Office of Legislative Services.

A big proponent of the bill has been Gregory's mother, Barbara Young, who was recently honored by the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey as its 2026 Distinguished Champion for Advocacy "for her tireless commitment to improving systems of care and advancing policies that support individuals living with traumatic brain injury and their families."

The bill is sponsored and cosponsored in both Houses by a lengthy list of Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals alike.

That, you would think, should help get it approved.