U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today supported and the Senate passed, the VA MISSION Act, which will overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs and fix many of the shortcomings in the VA Choice Program.
“Under the Choice Program, our veterans did not receive the healthcare they deserved,” said Daines. “The bipartisan VA MISSION Act will follow through on the promises that were made to our Veterans.”
This week, Daines took to the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to join him in supporting the VA Mission Act.
Watch video HERE.
Download video HERE.
The bipartisan MISSION Act will follow through on the promises that were made to our Veterans:
- Rural veterans will get greater, easier, and quicker access to the care they need
- Whether a veteran lives twenty, thirty, or forty miles from a VA clinic, they can go elsewhere if the VA does provide them with the services they need
- It brings VA care into the 21st century by encouraging telemedicine and strengthens oversight of opioid prescriptions
- Veterans will have more access to doctors because there will be measures holding companies like Health Net accountable for how they manage the new program
- It provides scholarships to encourage medical and dental students to serve in the VA, and it creates a new loan repayment program for medical students who are training in specialties that are currently lacking in the VA
For more information about the MISSION Act, click HERE.
Background:
On December 25, 2017, Daines led a letter to President and CEO of Health Net Federal Services, the current administrator for the Veterans Choice Program in Montana, and will assume responsibility for TRICARE in Montana in 2018.
On January 25, 2017, Daines highlighted the importance of improving the Veterans Choice Program for Montana’s veterans in a letter to President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr. David Shulkin.
On January 9, 2017, in a letter to Billy Maynard, President and CEO of Health Net, Daines expressed concerns that he has heard from Montana veterans of their lack of confidence in Health Net’s ability to fulfill their obligations.
On December 12, 2016, Daines met with Dr. Kathy Berger, the director of the Montana VA Healthcare System, to discuss prioritizing Montana veterans and ensuring they receive the care they deserve.
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