WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and John Boozman (R-AR), members of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, reintroduced bipartisan legislation to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) health care scheduling process so that veterans can easily schedule multiple visits at once through one phone call or online.
Currently, veterans do not have access to one centralized platform to schedule appointments for many types of VA-based specialty care. Veterans often prefer to schedule many of their appointments for the same day – in order to avoid multiple trips to the VA – but they frequently have to call individual clinics to set up appointments for specialty care. Attempting to coordinate multiple appointments through multiple phone calls and trips places a burden on all veterans, but particularly on those who must travel a long distance for appointments. The Improving Veteran Access to Care Act would address this issue by requiring the VA to create a streamlined scheduling system where veterans can either call or go online to view and schedule appointments for all types of VA care.
“Our veterans deserve a health care system that respects their time and meets their needs, but the current appointment scheduling process is unnecessarily complex, particularly for rural veterans traveling great distances for care,” said Senator Hassan. “This commonsense, bipartisan legislation will create a one-stop scheduling solution that will make it easier for veterans in New Hampshire and across the country to access the quality care that they’ve earned and deserve.”
“I’m proud to work in a bipartisan way to help ensure the VA is providing the resources and care our former servicemembers deserve,” said Senator Boozman. “Creating a one-stop tool for veterans’ medical appointment scheduling will remove inefficiencies and ensure their care is available, accessible and convenient.”
The bipartisan legislation is supported by the following Veterans Service Organizations – the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), and Disabled American Veterans (DAV).
“By establishing an integrated project team, the 'Improving Veteran Access to Care Act' aims to revolutionize the scheduling process for health care appointments within the Department of Veterans Affairs. This initiative focuses on timely delivery of care, enhanced access, improved customer experience, and greater efficiency, ultimately providing our veterans with the quality care they deserve. DAV would like to thank Senator Maggie Hassan and Senator John Boozman for introducing the 'Improving Veterans Access to Care Act,' which creates a team to improve the scheduling process for health care appointments and ensure our veterans receive timely access to care they have earned and urgently need,” said Jon Retzer, Deputy National Legislative Director for Health for Disabled American Veterans.
The Improving Veteran Access to Care Act would require the VA to create an integrated project team that would coordinate with existing VA projects to improve appointment scheduling, with a focus on the following objectives:
This bipartisan bill is part of Senator Hassan’s ongoing work to support service members, veterans, and their families. She helped develop and pass into law the bipartisan PACT Act, a historic bill that fundamentally reforms and improves the ways in which veterans exposed to toxic substances receive health care and benefits from the VA. Last year, the VA expanded health care eligibility under the PACT Act so that more veterans can get care. Senator Hassan also introduced and helped pass into law bipartisan legislation that will help more veterans get the in-home health care that they need, among other measures.
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