Hultgren Votes to Ensure Veterans Get Timely VA Appointments

Today, U.S. Representative Randy Hultgren (IL-14) supported the passage of the Veteran Access to Care Act of 2014, H.R. 4810, a bill which requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to offer non-VA care at the department’s expense to any enrolled veteran who cannot get an appointment within VA wait time goals, or who lives more than 40 miles from a VA medical facility. The bill would also ban bonuses for all VA employees until FY 2016.

“When veterans can’t get a timely appointment because of bureaucratic problems at the VA, they need another option—this bill gives them one. And no one at the VA should get a bonus until this mess is cleared up and veterans have real and complete answers about what happened, and how to fix it,” said Rep. Hultgren. “In Illinois, Hines VA hospital scheduled appointments within 30 days 97 percent of the time, but that still left 1,440 service members on a waiting list. And it’s unacceptable that 57,000 veterans have had to wait at least 90 days for their first appointment at a VA medical center. This bill is another step toward untangling the bureaucratic mess at the VA.”

The most recent audit from the Veterans Health Administration within the VA has reported that, of 5.75 million veteran patients in their care, 57,436 have waited more than 90 days to meet with a doctor and that, as of May 15, they still have not received an appointment.  More than 100,000 veterans were included in the category for “long wait times” overall.

On June 2, Rep. Hultgren visited the Capt. James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago and requested a meeting with the leadership of this combined VA and Department of Defense (DoD) facility which serves veterans and active duty military men and women. Lovell has scheduled veterans within 30 days 100 percent of the time, according to the most recent audit.

Previously, Rep. Hultgren cosponsored H.R. 241, the Veterans Timely Access to Health Care Act, which would ensure a veteran’s access to hospital and medical care within 30 days of original contact with the VA. He also supported passage of H.R. 2189 that would establish a commission or task force to examine the backlog of disability claims at the VA, and the passage of H.R. 4031, the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014, which authorized the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to quickly remove senior executives if poor performance warrants it. The bills passed the House with a vote of 404-1 and 390-33, respectively.

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