U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) is working to help improve veterans’ access to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) claims process with legislation that is expected to draw bipartisan support and full House approval before year’s end.
“We have over 100 open cases for veterans who have come to our offices as a last resort because they haven’t gotten the information and the answers that they need from the VA or the care they have been promised,” Davis recently told the Ripon Advance.
Known as the Working to Integrate Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now (WINGMAN) Act, H.R. 5166 was introduced by Davis and U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) in May and was recently advanced by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
The WINGMAN Act would grant certified congressional staff access to the electronic Veterans Benefits Administration claims records system to which they already have permission, but eliminates the burden of having to use the VA as a middle-man to receive the records. Advocates would be able to access the status of pending claims, medical records, rating decisions, notices of disagreement and Form-9 files, among other records.
Davis said that his long experience working with the many veterans who have become frustrated with the VA system motivated him to try to make the claims process easier.
The bill would help the VA manage its caseloads better by allowing Congressional offices to obtain status reports on their veteran constituents. The most frequent complaint from veterans in Davis’ district is the lack of responsiveness they encounter with the VA.
“Instead of having to send letters back and forth, and the time that it takes away from the veterans actually getting the services that they need, we all should have access to the same information on line,” Davis said.
No privacy rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) would be violated, Davis added.
Davis said that he is optimistic that the bill will be voted on by the full House before the end of the year and that the legislation that will likely draw support from both Republicans and Democrats.
“Whether you’re a Democrat or Republican in the House, every one of us has cases that our offices are advocating for to help our veterans and this bill will create a process that will allow every single member of Congress to be a better advocate and get better information for our veterans,” Davis said.
Davis has advocated for reforms since chronic management and system failures within the Veterans Health Administration came to light two years ago. He recently voted in favor of the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016, H.R. 5620, approved by the House on Sept. 14.
That bill strengthens whistleblower protections, makes it easier to reprimand employees for misconduct within the VA system and reforms the appeals process to clear a backlog of disability claims that has increased to more than 400,000 pending cases.
The backlog of VA medical care scheduling issues and the backlog of decisions on benefits needs to be quickly addressed by VA administrators, Davis said, adding that a focus should also be made on providing veterans with better primary care, perhaps through public-private partnerships with local clinics and hospitals, similar to the intent of the Veterans Choice Program.
The Choice Program allows those enrolled in VA health care to receive medical care in their community instead of traveling long distances to a VA facility or waiting for a VA appointment. The program, however, is considered largely unsuccessful.
“The VA Choice Program was implemented as a solution but has failed miserably because of bad administrative decisions at the VA,” Davis said.
A recent report from the Commission on Care, created by Congress to examine VA health care, also found that the design and execution of the Choice Program was flawed.
Davis said that the VA is in desperate need of a transformation.
“As we look to the future, the VA ought to be a center of excellence for what they do the best, like treating traumatic brain injuries and treating battle injuries,” Davis said.
The next U.S. president, Davis added, will need to ensure that the VA has prudent administrators who implement rules and regulations in the way they were intended by law.