Congress again facing a looming VA care funding crisis

[nitpicker]

https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2017/12/13/congress-again-facing-a-looming-va-care-funding-crisis/

Congress again facing a looming VA care funding crisis

By: Leo Shane III ?  11 hours ago

WASHINGTON — For the second time in less than a year, a controversial Veterans Affairs health program is just weeks away from running out of money and disrupting care for thousands of patients. And, for the second time over that span, lawmakers hoping for sweeping changes to VA health operations are scrambling to balance their long-term solutions with a short-term funding headache.

At issue is the Veterans Choice Program, which allows some veterans to receive private-sector care paid for with taxpayer dollars. The program is restricted to veterans who live 40 miles from the nearest VA facility or face a 30-day wait for care there, and has been at the center of debates over how to best deliver medical care to ailing veterans. Twice this year Congress has intervened to prolong the program, first in April to remove a later-summer expiration date for the funds, then in August to add $2.1 billion to keep the program solvent through the fall and winter.

On Tuesday, VA Secretary David Shulkin officially informed lawmakers that he expects the program to run out of money sometime in the next month. He is requesting yet more intervention from Congress.
(snip)

Shulkin warned in his letter Tuesday — and similarly in a letter over the summer — that allowing the Choice funding to lapse without a fix would result in “decreased access to care, damaged community partnerships and interrupted care continuity for veterans.” Those patients could not all be covered by other VA care options, he insisted.

House lawmakers have been unable to move their less expensive, less expansive community care bill out of committee in recent weeks. They’re expected to recess for the year by Dec. 22. That leaves congressional leaders about a week to figure out how to deal with the latest VA care crisis, or to decide to delay a decision to January and face a potentially even larger problem then.

[murielm99]

1. Oh, but it is much more important

to ram through a disastrous tax cut than to care for our veterans!

[Cold War Spook]

2. I am 100% service-connected disabled.

Except for my primary care and psychiatrist at the CBOC, I was on Choice Plus. Now I am in non-VA care which is great since all my doctors are local. What I want to know, are Choice Plus and non-VA care 2 separate entities?

[The River]

3. Same Here

This is just part of the plan to privatize the VA.

See H.R.4457 — 115th Congress (2017-2018)

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Veterans Accountable Care Organization and to provide veterans access to private health insurance plans, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. Short title; table of contents.

This Act may be cited as the “Veterans Empowerment Act”.

SEC. 2. Establishment of Veterans Accountable Care Organization.

(a) Establishment.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

Ҥ 323. Veterans Accountable Care Organization

“(a) Establishment.— (1) There is established the Veterans Accountable Care Organization (in this section referred to as the ‘Corporation’).

“(2) The Corporation is a federally chartered corporation.

“(3) The Corporation shall be incorporated and domiciled in the District of Columbia, or another nearby State, as determined by the board of directors of the Corporation.

“(4) The Corporation shall be a charitable and nonprofit corporation.

“(5) Except as otherwise provided, the Corporation shall have perpetual existence.

“(b) Purpose.—The purpose of the Corporation is to furnish high-quality hospital care, medical services, and other health care (excluding nursing home care and domiciliary care) to individuals eligible for such care and services under laws administered by the Secretary.

“(c) Board of Directors.— (1) The powers of the Corporation shall be vested in a Board of Directors that governs the Corporation.

“(2) The Board of Directors shall be ............. See more at link.

[pwb]

4. i will stay with our V A medical center.

More experience with what i need. And i like being around veterans and talking to them. They could offer to come right to my house and i would still go to the V. A. Maybe its just me but i look forward to and feel special being with my brothers in arms.

[Cold War Spook]

5. I would also except it takes 3 hours to get to the VA hospital.

Nearest VA hospital 3 hours away.

[GP6971]

6. I read that 2.1 bil is in the

Continuing Resolution that goes through 19 Jan. After that, who knows.