Blumenthal Welcomes Bipartisan Committee Approval of Comprehensive Veterans Health Care Bill
[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, issued the following statement after the committee voted to approve comprehensive bipartisan legislation streamlining and strengthening veterans’ health care services at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and in veterans’ communities.
“This bipartisan bill includes several measures I championed that will ensure timely and high-quality health care services for veterans,” said Blumenthal. “I’m proud to have authored original language with Senator Blunt establishing a permanent veterans PEER support program to take advantage of valuable peer to peer relationships amongst veterans.
“As the number of veterans seeking health care services outside the VA increases, it is critical that Congress continue to emphasize a strong VA health system while ensuring civilian providers have a firm understanding of how to best treat the specific health care needs of veterans. Congress must fulfill its obligation to support and care for our veterans and their families with the immediate passage of this legislation.”
The Caring for Our Veterans Act of 2017 would establish a permanent, streamlined ‘Veterans Community Care Program’ to provide veterans with access to health care and services in their own communities. Under this legislation, a veteran and his or her doctor will decide where that veteran will receive care, taking into consideration the veteran’s healthcare needs and the availability and quality of both VA and community care.
Blumenthal introduced an amendment included in The Caring for Our Veterans Act that directs Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin to establish standards and requirements for the provision of health care by non-department providers in clinical areas for which VA has special expertise – such as post-traumatic stress disorder, conditions related to military sexual trauma, and traumatic brain injury.
Blumenthal also secured language in the bill that improves health information sharing between VA and non-VA providers in order to close the information gap on opioid prescription and prevent the over-prescribing of opioids to high risk veterans. Additionally, legislation establishing a permanent veterans PEER support program authored by Blumenthal and U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) was included in the final bill.
In addition to these provisions, the legislation will:
- Remove barriers for VA healthcare professionals to practice telemedicine.
- Expand eligibility for the VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers to veterans of all generations, including Vietnam-era veterans.
- Authorize access to walk-in community clinics for enrolled veterans who have previously used VA healthcare services in the last two years.
- Allow the VA to enter into agreements with community healthcare and extended care providers that easily meet veterans’ demands for care in the community.
- Create reporting requirements to ensure all VA and community care programs are operating efficiently and effectively based on a number of factors including veterans’ satisfaction and quality standards, among others.
- Create standards for timely payment to community care providers.
A one-page summary of the Caring for Our Veterans Act is available here, and a section-by-section summary is available here.
The legislation is supported by The American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Military Officers Association of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Wounded Warrior Project.