The House advanced the Veteran Access to Care through Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act to conference committee on Wednesday to reconcile it with a Senate approved version of the bill.
The legislation would expand the authority of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide medical services to veterans through agreements with non-VA healthcare providers. It would also require the VA to use that authority to ensure all eligible veterans receive requested healthcare in a timely fashion.
“(Wednesday’s) vote is a key step toward ensuring mistreatment of our veterans never happens again,” Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) said. “Now, the bills that my House colleagues and I recently passed to hold Department of Veterans Affairs executives accountable and provide our veterans with access to quality care will go to a conference committee with the Senate, where our differences will be resolved to finalize this important legislation. I applaud the collaboration and efforts to advance this comprehensive bill, and I remain committed to working with my colleagues to enact effective reforms at the VA and keep our nation’s promise to take care of America’s heroes.”
The House passed the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act on May 21. The measure allows the VA secretary to remove senior executive employees if their performance warrants removal.
The Veteran Access to Care Act passed the House with a 426-0 vote on June 6. The legislation would allow veterans to seek care from non-VA healthcare providers if an appointment could not be scheduled within a pre-determined amount of time or at a VA facility within 40 miles of the veteran. It would also ban bonuses for VA employees for the next two years.