Fighting for Maine’s rural veterans
By U.S. Sen. Angus King
(I-Maine)
Memorial Day has come and gone, once again reminding us of the debt of gratitude we owe to those who laid down their lives for this country. We owe the same debt to the veterans still here today – we must stand up for them just as they stood up for us. Part of that commitment means providing our veterans with access to quality healthcare, and in rural states like Maine, that task can be a difficult one. Although under the Choice Act Congress was able to pass major reforms to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) last August, there’s more work to be done. That’s why this year I’ve been working on a bill to improve access to critical health care services for our rural vets, and am pleased to say it has passed the Senate with unanimous support.
To meet our obligation to the veteran community, Senator Collins and I joined with Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) to introduce the Access to Community Care for Veterans Act of 2015. This bill, which passed the Senate on the Friday before Memorial Day, requires the VA to use its existing authorities to enable veterans to receive care outside the VA if they live more than 40 miles driving distance from the closest VA facility that provides the type of care they need.
The need for our bill became glaringly obvious after the VA failed to interpret certain provisions of the Choice Act in accordance with Congressional intent. Specifically, implementation of the Choice Program, which aims to provide veterans with non-VA community care if they lived more than 40 miles from a VA facility, has several major flaws. First, the 40 mile distance was constructed “as the crow flies.” But in rural states like Maine, where distance can be a real obstacle between citizens and community resources, this interpretation did not adequately address the needs of our veterans. In response, my colleagues and I expressed our frustrations to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and in late March, the VA fixed the “as the crow flies” issue. While this change was an important step forward, the VA had still not addressed the Choice Program’s second implementation flaw: the VA facility used to measure the 40 miles didn’t have to provide the specific care being sought.
Our legislation provides a solution to this problem by allowing veterans to use the Choice Program to access non-VA care if the VA facility within 40 miles driving distance to their home does not offer the medical service they need. For example, consider a veteran living in Lincoln, Maine whose health concerns can only be fully accommodated at the VA Medical Center at Togus in Augusta (about 120 miles from home) rather than the local Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). If our bill passes the House and is signed by the President, that vet will be able to seek treatment at participating local care providers without having to pay out-of-pocket expenses.
That said, the significance of CBOCs cannot not be undervalued; they are an essential tool for ensuring the health and wellness of our veterans, especially for those who live far from the VA hospital at Togus. What the Choice Program does is complement those services in order to better address the unique health care needs of our veterans.
In recent years, the VA has received national criticism for failing to fulfill its mission and uphold its core values. But through this national uproar, the Maine VA remains a beacon of light for progress and productivity within the department. For example, the successes of the Access Received Closer to Home (ARCH) program highlights Maine’s role at the forefront of improving veterans’ access to quality health care. As one of five pilot sites across the country, the project allows veterans in northern Maine to receive specialty care at a private hospital in Caribou rather than travel the hundreds of miles to Togus. This model has the benefit of not only saving VA — and taxpayer — dollars through reduced travel reimbursement, but also allows our veterans to receive care in their hometowns.
Of the 1.3 million people living in Maine, nearly 130,000 are veterans. This is about ten percent of our population and per capita the third largest veteran population in the United States. We as a state and country must remain dedicated to these brave men and women. They put their lives on the line to protect our nation and they deserve access to quality health care without miles of red tape and the burden of long hours of travel. It’s just common sense. With the passing of the Access to Community Care for Veterans Act of 2015 in the Senate, we have taken a sensible, bipartisan step forward to assure our veterans receive the care they deserve.