Department of Veterans Affairs facilities have exploited loopholes to avoid providing veterans the health care guaranteed to them under the VA MISSION Act.
Congress must pass the Veterans’ ACCESS Act to close these loopholes and ensure veterans receive the care they so valiantly earned.
One veteran, Chris Enget, shared how the VA system nearly cost him his life:
“I’ve had the unfortunate experience of using the Department of Veterans Affairs for my health care and am lucky to have walked away with my life, much less my health. I’ve had surgery after surgery to correct malpractice, been left waiting months for needed care, been dismissed and ignored when I’ve raised concerns about my mental health, and been overmedicated by careless VA staff.”
Enget has been struggling with these issues consistently since his 2012 service in Afghanistan. His story is sadly typical.
To prevent tragic stories like these, President Trump signed the VA MISSION Act into law in 2018. This key legislation was designed to give veterans greater access to timely, high-quality care by expanding their ability to use their health benefits to seek treatment outside VA facilities through community care programs.
Under the MISSION Act, veterans became eligible for community care if:
- VA care for primary and mental health services could not be provided within 20 days or within a 30-minute drive.
- VA care for specialty services could not be provided within 28 days or within a 60-minute drive.
Unfortunately, under the Biden administration, the VA undermined its mission to care for veterans by making it more difficult for them to access these vital treatment options.
How have they avoided their duties?
Many VA facilities have failed to comply with both the letter and the intent of the MISSION Act by attempting to ensure veterans only use VA facilities for their care. Documents obtained by Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s Freedom of Information lawsuit reveal a shocking list of failures, including:
- Unwarranted bureaucratic hurdles: The VA was caught inserting redundant processes that Veterans must navigate before receiving community care. For example, an internal VA training manual uncovered through the AFPF lawsuit showed that even after standards for eligibility are reached, veterans are subjected to an extra “clinical review” to judge whether community care is “clinically appropriate.” These extra steps create unnecessary delays and hinder veterans’ access to timely, high-quality care — directly contradicting the intent of the MISSION Act.
- Manipulated wait time data: Schedulers misrepresented the dates of patient requests, making wait times appear shorter than they really were. Because community care eligibility was dependent on delays, this effectively denied veterans the care they were entitled to.
- Access standards waived without veterans’ consent: Standards for refusing community care referrals were completely made up with no basis in law. These thresholds are a key part of the law and waiving them is a decision only veterans themselves are legally entitled to make.
How does Veterans’ ACCESS Act fix this?
The Veterans’ ACCESS Act would hold the VA accountable and uphold its mission to ensure veterans can access timely, high-quality health care by:
- Codifying access standards: The act would write the standards for community care access into law, ensuring that the VA follows the law as intended and is held accountable when it doesn’t.
- Increasing transparency: It mandates that the VA proactively inform veterans about their eligibility for community care and provide clear explanations if referrals are denied.
- Improving access to mental health care: A three-year pilot program would allow veterans direct access to outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatments through community care, bypassing VA approval processes that often cause delays.
- Creating self-scheduling tools: The act would establish online portals where veterans can schedule appointments, track referrals, and manage appeals, reducing bureaucratic delays and improving the overall experience.
It’s time to take action.
Veterans’ lives depend on passing the Veterans’ ACCESS Act, and you can help.
Concerned Veterans for America is leading the call for Congress to get this vital legislation across the line. Click here to sign a letter to your representative and join the movement.
Veterans sacrificed for this country. Now it’s your turn to fight for them.