Senate bill would increase healthcare options for veterans

Sen. John McCain, R.-Ariz., fed-up with the slow pace of improvements in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ system, proposed legislation that would allow veterans to go anywhere for healthcare, reports The Arizona Republic.

The bill would eliminate the current limitation that veterans must wait at least 30 days or live more than 40 miles from a VA facility in order to receive care outside the VA system.

The bill would also allow veterans to go to walk-in clinics for minor illnesses, expand the hours of VA clinics and pharmacies, and expand use of telemedicine for doctors to treat veterans in other states.

“This effort that we have been making, I believe, has shown some progress, but the fact remains that we have a long way to go,” McCain said.

McCain provided no cost estimate for the bill. When McCain and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., negotiated the previous VA healthcare reform in 2014, the budget of the registration was estimated at $3.3 billion but has only cost $400 million.

McCain said his state office currently has 500 cases involving complaints by veterans.

“The day that (total) decreases, I think will be the day that we have shown some progress in caring for our veterans,” McCain said.