Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - May 09, 2011)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Veterans Health Equity Act of 2011. This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that every State has either a full-service veterans hospital or, in the alternative, that veterans in every State have access to comparable in-state hospital care and medical services. I am pleased that my colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Ayotte, has agreed to be an original cosponsor of this measure.

New Hampshire is currently the only State that does not have either a full-service veterans medical center or a military hospital providing comparable services to veterans. While the staff of the Manchester VA Medical Center does an excellent job of caring for our State's veterans, this facility does not provide inpatient surgical care, emergency services or care in a number of critical specialties. This imposes a great burden on many New Hampshire veterans who are forced to travel out of state for a range of medical services.

New Hampshire has over 130,000 veterans and this number continues to grow as our troops return from major deployments in the Middle East. It is unconscionable that our veterans must board shuttles to larger VA facilities in Massachusetts or Vermont to get the medical care they have been promised in exchange for their service. Often, especially during the winter months, travel is difficult in New England, and our veterans should not be forced to drive long distances in order to receive the medical care they have earned and deserve.

Our goal is to ensure that New Hampshire veterans get the care they need as close to home as possible. This legislation provides the Department of Veterans Affairs with the flexibility to achieve this end in the most cost-effective manner. If it is not feasible for the VA to construct a new full-service hospital in New Hampshire or to provide the full panoply of hospital services at its existing medical center in Manchester, the legislation simply requires the VA to contract with other health providers to offer comparable in-state care.

I introduced similar legislation in the 111th Congress with our former colleague, Senator Judd Gregg. Since that time, the VA has established an effective contractual relationship with one hospital in New Hampshire, Concord Hospital, to expand in-state care for our veterans. I believe this type of partnership could be readily expanded. I have begun working with officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs to

find innovative ways to enhance public-private health care partnerships in New Hampshire and look forward to furthering that dialogue.

Our veterans deserve access to first-rate medical care, regardless of where they live. There are full-service veterans hospitals in 47 States and veterans in Alaska and Hawaii are able to receive care at military hospitals. New Hampshire alone has neither. I am hopeful that my colleagues will recognize this inequity and support this effort to provide New Hampshire veterans with the same access to quality local health care that veterans in every other State enjoy.

I look forward to working with the entire New Hampshire congressional delegation, with my Senate colleagues and with the Obama administration to end this injustice.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source