JULY 28 UPDATE: This afternoon, Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Jeff Miller, the Senate and House veterans committee chairmen, held a joint press conference to announce compromise legislation to reform the VA and address the problems regarding veterans' access to healthcare.
The major changes the legislation proposes are:
- Provides $10 billion for the contracting out of health care and to allow veterans to give private care if they 40 miles away from a VA facility
- Provides $5 billion for the VA to add doctors and other clinicians as well as address some of the serious space problems at overcrowded VA facilities
- Gives the secretary authority to immediately remove incompetent senior executives based on poor job performance, while providing a 21-day period for due-process and appeals.
- Provides about $17 billion into VA health care over the next several years. There are $5 billion in offsets that will bring the total cost of the package down to $12 billion in new funding.
(Read Senator Sanders' full statement and the Conference Report.)
Negotiating a Veterans Health Reform Compromise
7/23: With two weeks left before August recess, Congress is feeling the pressure about passing a veterans' health bill that would ease wait time for veterans. “Pass a bill or don’t come back from recess,” William A. Thien, the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, warned Congress. In June, the Senate and House passed their own versions of veterans health legislation to improve access to care. Since then, they've been negotiating the differences in order to pass one bill to send to the President for his signature into law.
The biggest sticking point is the cost. According to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who heads the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, "the Senate voted 93-3 to pay for this bill entirely with emergency funding as a cost of war," referring to the bipartisan bill he introduced with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). "It is imperative that the VA be able to hire the doctors and nurses and other medical personnel that are needed so that we do not have the same problems at the VA in years to come that we have today.”
The House version would fund outside care for veterans only “to the extent that appropriations are available,” leaving most of the responsibility for funding the program to Congressional appropriators in the long term.
Newly Introduced Veterans' Health Bills
Meanwhile, here are a few other bills recently introduced in Congress related to veterans' health:
- HR 5059
Suicide Prevention for America’s Veterans Act (S 2182 in the Senate)
—Bipartisan— Improves access to care for troops and veterans by extending combat eligibility from 5 to 15 years. Sets up a review process for potentially wrongful discharges. (An unknown numbers of troops who struggle with mental health issues have been discharged for behavior often caused by invisible injuries.) Increases the capacity to meet demands for mental health care professionals by repaying medical school loans for psychiatrists who commit to long-term service in the VA. Requires an annual review of care programs within DOD and the VA to ensure resources are effectively combatting the problem. Requires the VA and DOD to ensure mental health care providers have special training to identify veterans at-risk for suicide. (Source: Sen. John Walsh (D-MT).)
- HR 4816
Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act (S 1602 in the Senate)
Ensures the descendants of veterans whose illnesses are related to exposure to toxins are covered by the Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense. instructs the Department of Veterans Affairs to fund treatment for descendants of veterans who were exposed to toxins while in combat or during their tours of duty. Toxins such as Agent Orange have been shown to cause birth defects in the children of military personnel who came in to contact with them either during the Vietnam War, in the storage and transportation of them, or by riding in aircraft that had been previous used to transport the toxins, according to bill sponsors.
- HR 4810
—Bipartisan— Emergency legislation aimed at helping veterans receive timely access to medical care. Would require VA to offer non-VA care at the department’s expense to any enrolled veteran who cannot get an appointment within VA wait time goals or who lives more than 40 miles from a VA medical facility. Any care provided by a non-Department facility not under an existing VA contract would be reimbursed at the rate set by the VA, Tricare, or Medicare—whichever is greatest. The access portions of the bill would sunset two years after enactment of the bill. (Source: House Veterans Affairs Committee.) — Passed by the House on June 10th; goes to the Senate for consideration. —
- HR 5097
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to allow certain veterans to participate in the Patient- Centered Community Care program.
- HR 5047
Continuing Care for Veterans Act (S 2467 in the Senate)
Would prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from altering availability and wait times for hospital care, medical services, or other health care based on the length of time since the veteran’s last visit to a VA facility, according to bill sponsors.
- HR 5022
Enhanced Dental Care for Veterans Act (S 1586 in the Senate)
Would ensure that all veterans have access to enhanced dental care, authorize a pilot program to utilize community-based clinics for more extensive dental work, and provide dental health education to encourage prevention.
- HR 5007
Restoring Accountability in Veterans Access to Health Care Act
To assess staffing shortages at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn't imply a POPVOX endorsement in any way. Rather, we're simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system.
