Senator John McCain and Bipartisan Group of Senators Urge VA Secretary Robert McDonald to Rectify Problems with Choice Card Eligibility and Fully Implement VA Reform Legislation

Press Release

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) joined 41 Senators to send a letter to Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald today urging him to modify the way that the VA determines veterans' eligibility to receive care at non-VA health care facilities as part of the Choice Card Program, which was established under the Veterans Choice, Access, and Accountability Act of 2014 that was signed into law last year. They also urged Secretary McDonald to stop any attempt to reallocate funds away from the Choice Card to other programs within the VA, which President Obama has proposed in his Fiscal Year 2016 budget request.

"It is deeply troubling that less than one percent of veterans who have received the Choice Card have been able to access care at non-VA health care facilities in the nearly four months since the Veterans Choice, Access, and Accountability Act of 2014 was enacted," said Senator John McCain. "It is clear that the VA's narrow interpretation of veterans' eligibility to use the Choice Card is preventing them from gaining the flexibility in care they need. In addition, President Obama's budget proposal to reallocate funds away from the Veterans Choice Program to other programs within the Department indicates that the VA is giving up on this program before it has even been given a chance to work. Our veterans deserve to have greater choice and flexibility in their health care, and Congress will not stop working to ensure that the VA fulfills its responsibility to carry out the law and deliver the best quality care to all those who have served."

The letter is signed by Senators McCain, Collins (R-ME), Moran (R-KS), King (I-ME), Grassley (R-IA), Markey (D-MA), Ernst (R-IA), Vitter (R-LA), Manchin (D-WV), Fischer (R-NE), Klobuchar (D-MN), Flake (R-AZ), Warner (D-VA), Crapo (R-ID), Wyden (D-OR), Hatch (R-UT), Boxer (D-CA), Roberts (R-KS), Kaine (D-VA), Barrasso (R-WY), Brown (D-OH), Enzi (R-WY), Heitkamp (D-ND), Rubio (R-FL), Cardin (D-MD), Tillis (R-NC), Mikulski (D-MD), Toomey (R-PA), Heinrich (D-NM), Capito (R-WV), Daines (R-MT), Inhofe (R-OK), Burr (R-NC), Alexander (R-TN), Thune (R-SD), Cotton (R-AR), Hoeven (R-ND), Cruz (R-TX), Merkley (D-OR), Kirk (R-IL), McCaskill (D-MO), and Scott (R-SC).