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Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) joined his colleagues in passing legislation to improve access to health care for veterans and reform the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care infrastructure. The VA MISSION Act also includes provisions to consolidate community care programs into a single, streamlined service. The legislation passed with bipartisan support and is supported by all major veterans service organizations including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Wounded War Project, Disabled American Veterans, and Concerned Veterans for America.

A major component of the legislation is the consolidation of VA Choice and six other programs into one community-care program that would increase the ability for veterans to access care from local providers. Latta met with local representatives from veterans service organizations recently, and many of them discussed difficulties that veterans have had using the VA choice due to its rigid structure.

Latta has worked for years to improve access to care for veterans in Ohio’s 5th Congressional District, especially those seeking cancer treatment. He had heard from a number of veterans that have to travel to the Toledo VA Clinic, then take a bus to the Ann Arbor VA facility, for treatment. This process is exhausting and can take an entire day. Latta authored the Veterans Cancer Treatment Flexibility Act to allow veterans needing cancer treatment to access local facilities under the VA Choice Act and spoke directly House Veterans Affairs Committee leadership about the need to fix this problem. The VA MISSION Act addresses the issue that Congressman Latta raised by removing the 40-mile barrier in the VA Choice Program and providing more flexibility to the VA Secretary to make determinations regrading veteran access to non-VA care.
 
“While it has meant increased access to care, the VA Choice program has been too cumbersome and difficult to utilize for many veterans,” said Latta. “The VA MISSION Act will make it much easier for veterans to see a local doctor without jumping through countless bureaucratic hoops. For example, many veterans in Ohio’s 5th Congressional District that need cancer treatment have to travel to the Toledo VA clinic and then have to take a bus up to Ann Arbor. The VA MISSION Act will allow greater access to cancer treatment closer to where these veterans live.

“The legislation also reforms the VA Caregiver Act to ensure equal treatment of seriously injured pre-9/11 veterans and post-9/11 veterans. A priority for veterans service organizations, the bill allows caregivers of pre-9/11 injured veterans to receive a monthly stipend. Our veterans have given so much in service of our nation, and we must keep the promises made to them.”

Additionally, the VA MISSION Act creates a fair and transparent process for a comprehensive audit of VA’s assets to help transform and modernize the VA to better meet current and future medical models. The bill also improves recruitment and retention programs to expand the internal capacity for care at VA facilities.

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