Twenty U.S. Senators, led by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), have sent a letter to Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough urging corrections to policy changes that are making it harder for veterans to receive care.
For several weeks, Sen. Moran has been raising concerns about Biden administration policies which have limited the ability of veterans nationwide to access healthcare in their own communities.
“Under President Biden’s administration, community care has come under attack and veterans, many of them, are paying the price.” — Sen. Jerry Moran
Watch my floor speech on the Biden administration’s restriction on community care for veterans ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/eMj5iHtbjk
— Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) July 12, 2024
The letter, signed by Moran and 19 of his colleagues calls upon the Biden administration to quickly correct recent changes in strategy that have undermined the MISSION Act, passed six years ago and signed into law by President Trump, which expanded veterans’ ability to be seen by health care providers in their communities.
In the years since the passage of the MISSION Act, Moran says the VA healthcare system has seen significant increases in enrollment and participation as well as improvements in quality and trust in the system.
However, in January of this year, Biden’s Undersecretary of Health, Dr. Shereef Elnahal commissioned a panel known as “Red Team” for the purpose of assessing “the trends and drivers of increasing community care spending.”
To save money, Red Team suggested that the VA reduce community care referrals for veterans seeking emergency, oncology and mental health care.
Moran argues that veterans who are in need of these services are among those considered most vulnerable and high risk.
The letter from Moran and his Senate colleagues states, in part:
“Congress has never failed to provide VA with the resources required to fulfill its mission. If you believe that VA lacks the funding to provide the level of access to care that veterans deserve in VA and in the community, it is incumbent on you to reprioritize resources from non-patient care areas and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse, not to unilaterally implement purported cost-savings measures that, even as an unintended consequence, decrease veteran choice and endanger veteran lives.”
The 19 Senators who also signed the letter include Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Thune (R-S.D.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.).
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