Issue Position: Veterans

Issue Position

To help fix the broken system at the VA, I co-sponsored the Veterans Choice Act, which will give veterans more choice and flexibility while reforming the Veterans Health Care system with greater accountability and transparency. The legislation will help to address long wait times or long drives for veterans who need health care services by enabling them to get those services at non-VA facilities closer to home. I am continually working with the VA, our county veteran service officers and our veterans to ensure this law is implemented in a way that works for our veterans and their families.

Our veterans have put their lives on the line to defend our freedom, and for that we owe them so much more than we can repay. In North Dakota only 15 out of 80 nursing homes currently contract with the VA to provide care. That is why Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and I introduced the Veterans Access to Long Term Care and Health Services Act (S.2000), legislation that makes it easier for the VA to enter into provider agreements with qualified health care and extended care facilities. The bill enables more local providers to accept veteran patients without having to comply with burdensome and often times expensive federal contracting requirements.

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