Senate Passes Sen. Moran Bill to Fix 40-Mile Choice Act Eligibility

Press Release

Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Access to Community Care for Veterans Act (S.1463), legislation authored by U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) -- a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee -- that amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Choice Act) to give veterans access to community health care when the nearest VA medical facility within 40 miles driving distance from a veteran's home is incapable of offering care the veteran needs. S.1463 now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote.

Sen. Moran's legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Angus King (I-Maine), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.). The Congressional Budget Office (CBO)'s preliminary estimate of the mandatory effects of S.1463 gave a net zero effect over the 5-year and 10-year projection period.

"Today, the U.S. Senate put veterans first and voted to make certain veterans are not dismissed or forgotten just because of where they live," Sen. Moran said. "The VA continues to use a narrow interpretation of the 40-mile rule, choosing to take into account only the distance of a VA medical facility from a veteran's home and not whether the VA facility can actually provide the services the veteran needs. The legislation passed unanimously by the Senate today aims to help thousands of veterans who are currently being forced to choose between traveling hours to a VA medical facility, paying out of pocket, or going without care altogether."

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