Webb Co-Sponsors Measure To Address Inequities In V.A. Healthcare For Rural Veterans

Press Release

Webb Co-Sponsors Measure to Address Inequities in V.A. Healthcare for Rural Veterans

Senator Jim Webb today announced the passage of key provisions of the Rural Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act of 2007 by the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. The legislation would invest in programs to help veterans in rural areas access V.A. healthcare and reimburse them for long distance travel to V.A. medical facilities. Senator Webb served as a co-sponsor of the healthcare legislation. It now heads to the Senate for a full vote.

A 2004 study by the Department of Veterans Affairs found that veterans living in rural areas are in poorer health than veterans in urban areas. In response to these findings, the 109th Congress created the Office of Rural Health in the V.A. to address the disparities in rural and urban healthcare services for veterans. The current legislation provides the necessary funding to expand and improve the office.

"Virginia has the fourth largest veteran population in the country," said Senator Jim Webb. "It's important to provide our veterans in rural communities with the same access to V.A. facilities as veterans in urban areas. This legislation is an important step in addressing the inequities outlined by the V.A."

Currently, veterans who do not live within close proximity of the major V.A. medical facilities experience long travel times to access services. Veterans in rural areas do not have access to public transportation and transportation by ambulance is not always reimbursed by the V.A. Few outpatient clinics exist in rural localities and counseling services and support groups for veterans and their family members are especially difficult to obtain in rural areas.

Key provisions in the bill approved by the Veterans' Affairs Committee include:

Ø Innovative Programs to Improve Health Care Access for Rural Veterans that will allow the V.A. to partner with the Department of Health and Human Services at community health centers and the Indian Health Service. These demonstration projects will allow the V.A. to test new models for care that would improve access to health care for rural veterans and Native American veterans;

Ø Creation of the VetsRide Grant Program, which will provide grants of up to $50,000 to veterans' service organizations, community transportation organizations, and state veterans' service officers to assist veterans with travel to V.A. medical centers. The bill authorizes up to $6 million in funding per year for this innovative new program to help veterans in rural communities who frequently face long and expensive travel to reach the nearest V.A. health care clinics;

Ø Better Travel Reimbursements Rates for veterans' travel expenses related to V.A. medical care. The mileage reimbursement rate is more than doubled, from 11 cents per mile to 28.5 cents per mile. Earlier this year, Senator Webb co-sponsored additional legislation (S. 994) to alleviate travel costs for veterans.

Ø Required Reports on the VA's Progress toward Improving Care for Rural Veterans, including a report on the progress of the V.A.'s Office of Rural Health, the V.A.'s plans for using telemedicine, the expected effects of the VA putting in place a fee-basis healthcare program for rural veterans and how the V.A. plans to accomplish this, and the feasibility of establishing partnerships at critical access hospitals with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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