Today I introduced legislation to require the VA to utilize its authority to offer community care to veterans who currently are unable to receive the healthcare services they need from a VA medical facility within 40 miles of where they live. Even with the passage of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 last year, many rural Kansas veterans are still unable to access the care they need because common sense is not prevailing. It has become clear that the VA is implementing the Choice Act in a way that only takes into account distance to a VA medical facility, and not whether that facility can actually provide the medical services a veteran requires. For example, while the services offered at Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) are invaluable, they cannot meet every health care need for all veterans. Living near a CBOC should not prevent a veteran from accessing care that the CBOC cannot provide. In the absence of VA action, my new legislation that would make certain veterans still struggling with access to care are not dismissed or forgotten just because of where they live.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 21:07:28 +0000
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