DAV pushes Congress to act before year-end break

In Washington, D.C., the end of 2017 has been packed with important legislative round tables, hearings and congressional meetings. A number of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care reform proposals are being considered by Congress and legislation to address the future of VA’s community care—Choice—program and a bill to conduct a review of VA’s assets and physical infrastructure were at the top of the list.

The House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees (HVAC/SVAC) have been working on two major legislative proposals that would significantly change how care in the community is provided to include a draft bipartisan SVAC measure, the Caring for Our Veterans Act, and legislation introduced by the HVAC Chairman and Ranking Member, the VA Care in the Community Act (H.R. 4242). Both plans propose models for creating an integrated network of VA and community providers and both include provisions that address when and under what circumstances enrolled veterans will have access to health care services in the VA’s community care network.

In October, DAV testified before the HVAC that a BRAC-like Commission proposed in a draft bill, the VA Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Act (now H.R. 4243) was not necessary for VA to deal with vacant or underutilized buildings or modernization of VA’s infrastructure.

“While we support assessment of VA’s current infrastructure, we recommend an integrated systems approach that requires Congress and VA to first determine how and where health care will be delivered to veterans under its new proposed model of care which will replace the existing Choice Program,” said DAV National Legislative Director Joy Ilem. “DAV testified that Congress and VA must come to an agreement on a veterans’ care model before an asset review is conducted and recommendations about realignment, closure or building new facilities are made. We made it clear that no veteran should lose access to VA health care during this process.”

The AIR bill, which also included additional funding necessary to continue the current Choice program through the end of next year, was approved by the Committee on a party-line vote. Democrats were opposed to moving the infrastructure bill forward without also moving H.R. 4242—the VA Care in the Community Act, which was pulled from the agenda at the last minute due to CBO scoring and unrelated congressional jurisdictional issues.

VA expects the Choice program to run out of funds by the end of 2017 and has pressed Congress to complete its work on these legislative matters as quickly as possible. In addition, it is critical that legislation to replace the Choice program be in place before the end of the year in order to provide VA with a full year to stand up the new program when Choice expires.

“In addition to reforming how VA buys care in the community, we continue to press Congress to strengthen the VA health care system, including addressing perennial staffing shortages, and its misaligned and aging infrastructure,” added Ilem. Veterans Service Organizations have been reviewing these important legislative measures and offering improvements that will strengthen the VA health care system and set the foundation for modernization of veterans’ health care for the 21st century.