Vets Could Use Non-VA Hospitals If LoBiondo’s Bill Wins Passage

WASHINGTON – It was May 30 when Eric K. Shinseki resigned as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The retired four-star Army general left the post he had held since Dec. 7, 2008 because of a scandal that rocked the agency over serious deficiencies delivering healthcare to veterans.
On the same day as Shinseki’s action, U.S. Rep. Frank A. LoBiondo (R-2nd) introduced the “Vets Health ID Act.” If enacted his bill would make South Jersey part of a pilot program. That two-year pilot program would permit eligible veterans, who chose to do so, to receive hospital care and medical services at non-VA facilities.
Three days earlier, LoBiondo unveiled the proposal to American Legion members in Millville.
The bill would, according to a release, “require the VA to establish a pilot program in each of the 21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) that grants an eligible veteran a ‘unique identification card’ that allows for medical care at non-VA facilities at the VA’s expense.”
“The secretary shall take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that such (eligible) veterans receive such care and services at such non-Department facilities upon presentation of the identification card,” the bill states.
The Second District, which LoBiondo represents, is part of VISN 4. It would be one of the areas included in the two-year pilot program. The program would need to be established and operating within one year of the bill being signed into law.
“The promise made to our veterans is threatened by systemic failures of leadership, gross mismanagement, bureaucratic red tape and a lack of common compassion,” LoBiondo wrote in a release. “As veterans are being made to wait months for medical appointment and, in South Jersey, travel out of state for care, it is time to fully utilize local healthcare resources and professionals in advance of our shared mission.”
“Despite significant increases in funding and resources over the past few years, it is clear the current VA system is not caring for our veterans as it was intended. My legislation is a responsible way to ensure the health needs of our veterans are met in a timely, professional and compassionate manner,” LoBiondo continued.
In 2011, when LoBiondo learned the VA had existing blanket ordering agreements for dialysis service providers, LoBiondo forced VA to publicly disclose those agreements and the requirements needed for South Jersey veterans to receive dialysis treatments locally.
Prior to Shinseki’s resignation, LoBiondo had called for him to resign “amid additional reports of mistreatment of veterans at VA hospitals and facilities across the country. The VA Inspector General’s report released earlier that week detailed recent allegations that VA health clinics used in appropriate scheduling practices to help boost their overall performance, affecting 1,700 veterans at the Phoenix, Ariz. VA Medical Center alone.”