An authorized telehealth grant program should be quickly created to improve health care for United States military veterans living in rural and underserved areas of the country, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) recently told the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The enacted Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 — which Sen. Moran and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced in March 2019 — requires the VA to create new or expand existing partnerships to increase the number of locations where VA telehealth care is available at non-VA facilities.
“We are alarmed that while the Hannon Act was signed into law on October 17, 2020, VA does not anticipate awarding its first telehealth grants until fall of fiscal year 2025 — four years after enactment,” Sens. Moran and Tester wrote in an Oct. 17 letter sent to VA Secretary Denis McDonough.
“Given the unprecedented increase in telehealth demand and the historic level of investment in VA telehealth funding, we are concerned VA has yet to publish a proposed rule to enact the telehealth grants program from the Hannon Act,” according to their letter.
Such a program, the lawmakers wrote, would allow non-VA facilities, such as veterans service organizations, nonprofits, or businesses to establish telehealth access points for local veterans. Grant funds could be used to improve existing infrastructure to better provide telehealth to veterans, including new hardware or software, improved internet access, site attendant training, or minor construction projects to increase privacy and provide a more therapeutic environment, according to their letter.
“Funds cannot be used for major construction projects or the purchase of new property,” noted Sen. Moran and Sen. Tester, who are ranking member and chairman, respectively, of the U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
The senators requested that McDonough provide an update on the status of the telehealth grant program development, steps taken to expedite implementation, and a timeline for when the VA plans to publish a proposed rule, final rule, and award grants in accordance with Section 701 of the Hannon Act.
“VA must take action to ensure veterans in rural and remote areas have timely and convenient access to care and telehealth services,” they wrote.