Faster Care For Veterans Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4352, the Faster Care for Veterans Act, which I introduced with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

The idea behind the bill is simple. Our Nation's veterans deserve the same technological innovations and level of service at VA healthcare facilities as patients in the private market. One such innovation is patient self-scheduling technology. Patients can log on to an app on their phone or on a Web site, indicate the type of appointment they need, select their location, and schedule their own appointments at a time convenient for them--no middle men, no obnoxious hold music, and no unending carousel of options on an automated phone menu; just a quick and easy medical appointment that works for your schedule.

This technology is not just beneficial for patients, it is good for medical providers as well. In the private market, the introduction of patient self-scheduling has dramatically decreased wait times, saving time and money. The VA ought to chase these same innovations so our veterans receive the best health care and user experience in the world.

As a Member of Congress, I declined congressional health care and pledged to receive my care at the VA. I receive excellent service from terrific doctors and nurses at my home VA facility in Bedford, Massachusetts. However, scheduling an appointment here in D.C. or at home in Bedford has never been easy.

Dennis Magnasco, my veterans' liaison in my office in Salem, Massachusetts, learned this the hard way. Shortly after I introduced the Faster Care for Veterans Act, Dennis called our local VA hospital to make an appointment himself. He listened to the options on the automated menu and pressed one to schedule an appointment. After several more pushed buttons, rather than connecting him to the talented schedulers who work in the Bedford VA, the automated menu started over again. It went into an endless cycle. He hung up, and after multiple unsuccessful further attempts, he recorded himself doing this in a video.

I put this video on my Facebook page, and the response was astonishing. Four million people saw the video, 35,000 people shared the video, and 2,000 people commented. People from all over the country shared their experience trying to schedule their own appointments at the VA. The frustration is nationwide.

A veteran from Walcott, Arkansas, said: I can tell you this is for real. It happens every time I call. I usually give up and drive to the clinic 18 or 20 miles away so I can talk to a person face to face.

A veteran from El Paso, Texas, said: This is exactly what happens every time you try to call for an appointment or even get general information about an existing appointment. This is exactly why lots of us vets end up giving up on the system.

A veteran from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said: The longest I have been on hold with the VA was an hour and 45 minutes before I gave up.

This is not an issue of quality of care, it is an issue of access to care. The Faster Care for Veterans Act is a solution.

First, this bill directs the VA to conduct a pilot program to test commercial off-the-shelf self-scheduling technology at three locations across the country while allowing the VA to continue developing its inhouse solution.

Second, the bill requires both the pilot program and the VA's solution to meet several capabilities currently available in the private market. These requirements will ensure our veterans get the same level of service as every other American.

Third, the bill provides for an independent assessment to verify if the pilot program or the VA's solution meets the minimum capabilities.

Lastly, the bill requires the VA to replace any system used by the VA that does not meet those minimum requirements with a commercially available off-the-shelf technology that does meet those capabilities.

The bill is supported by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the American College of Neurosurgeons, and the American Osteopathic Association; and this bill is cosponsored by more than half of the House of Representatives. Our veterans are demanding a 21st century VA healthcare system. This bill is one step in that direction.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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