Reps. Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced the Veterans’ Credit Protection Act this week.
The legislation would scrutinize delayed Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) payments of veterans’ emergency medical services and the resulting cost increases for veterans and federal taxpayers. Boustany said the bill would expose Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) that raise costs for taxpayers and veterans, according to a press release.
“We should honor the heroes who sacrificed for our freedom, instead of allowing VA bureaucrats to endanger their access to life-saving medical care,” Boustany said. “Our bill would accelerate congressional oversight and continue exposing VISNs that inappropriately increase costs for taxpayers and veterans. It also requires the VA to clean up credit problems it needlessly creates for veterans and makes it easier for providers to report unfair payment denial games by VA employees. As House and Senate conferees negotiate a larger veterans’ bill, I urge them to protect veterans from unfair medical debts and make the VA pay its bills on time.”
The bill’s introduction follows action by Boustany to aid a veteran from Louisiana to clear an unpaid bill for a hospital emergency room visit that exceeded $1,000. The veteran’s bill was ignored for more than two years by the VA, damaging the veteran’s credit rating. Because of the current federal law, federal taxpayers paid the interest penalties on the delayed payments.
“We must continue pushing to improve veterans’ access to quality healthcare,” Cassidy said. “Part of this means paying those who provide the care when the Veterans Affairs system does not. This bill is a good next step to help reduce the number of payment delays and lower taxpayer costs.”
Payment delays in Louisiana are caused by VISN 16, which has admitted to one of the worst performances in the nation on payment delays with a one-time low of just 26 percent of payments made in a timely and adequate manner. As a result, VISN 16 owes millions of dollars in unpaid claims for services. Hundreds of the claims are more than a year old with some ambulance service claims more than three years old.