Rep. Capito: Allow Veterans to Use Local Doctors, Hospitals

Press Release

U.S. Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) voted yes today on bipartisan emergency legislation to allow veterans facing long wait times to receive paid-for health care at non-VA facilities. H.R. 4810, the Veterans Access to Care Act, passed the House 426-0 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.

The Veterans Access to Care Act would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow a veteran to receive care at non-VA facilities at the department's expense if the veteran cannot get an appointment within the VA's wait time goals or if the veteran lives more than 40 miles from a VA medical facility. This provision would expire two years after the bill's enactment.

"No veteran should be waiting months for a first appointment with the VA, and yet thousands are on waiting lists in West Virginia and across the nation. Veterans need alternatives to waiting for care from the VA, and I have long supported allowing veterans to access care closer to home. This legislation will give veterans the ability to go elsewhere for care at the VA's expense, and I hope the VA will take swift action to restore veterans' trust in its hospitals and care," Rep. Capito said.

The bill would also ban all bonuses for VA employees from fiscal years 2014 to 2016 and require an independent assessment of the Veterans Health Administration's performance.

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