Fitzpatrick, House Pass Bill to Increase Veterans Access to Care

Press Release

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-8) released the following statement Tuesday regarding the House passage of the Veterans Access to Care Act of 2014 [H.R. 4810] which requires the Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) to offer non-VA care at the department's expense to any enrolled veteran who cannot get an appointment within VA wait time goals - currently 14 days - or who lives more than 40 miles from a VA medical facility.

Yesterday, the VA released an internal audit that only clarified the limitations of access to VA health care for veterans across our nation -- including here in the Philadelphia region. While the VA is working to address the systemic mismanagement, this bipartisan legislation ensures that veterans are not left waiting for the VA to get its act together. The "Veterans Access to Care Act' provides the opportunity for veterans to seek healthcare at a private hospital or treatment center if their wait at a VA facility is too long or to too far away. We need to be increasing access to healthcare for those who served us, not leaving them to wait for bureaucratic action.

Fitzpatrick has also joined the House in passing the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act [H.R. 4031] which allows the VA the ability to remove employees who fail to meet their standards. Additionally, Fitzpatrick has called for the passage of bipartisan legislation which would better connect digital medical records between the Department of Defense and the VA.

Findings from the recently released VA Access Audit show that at the Philadelphia VAMC:

The average wait time for a primary care appointment for new patients (who had not been at the facility in the last 24 months) was at 42.92 days

The average wait time for a specialty care appointment for new patients (who had not been at the facility in the last 24 months) was 61.07 days.

The average wait time for a mental health care appointment for new patients (who had not been at the facility in the last 24 months) was 44.04 days.

Nationally, the audit shows:

13% of scheduling staff interviewed indicated they received instruction (from supervisors or others) to enter a date different than what the Veteran had requested in the appointment scheduling system.

8% of scheduling staff indicated they used alternatives to the official Electronic Wait List (EWL). In some cases, pressures were placed on schedulers to utilize unofficial lists or engage in inappropriate practices in order to make waiting times appear more favorable.

Such practices are widespread enough to require VA to re-examine its entire Performance Management system and, in particular, whether current measures and targets for access are realistic or sufficient.

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