Rounds Discusses Veterans’ Access to Health Care with VFW Representatives during Joint Hearing
Rounds: “In rural areas, we struggle with getting health care professionals appropriately distributed throughout the entire state.”
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, today at a joint Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing discussed access to timely, quality health care for veterans in rural areas, and the option for veterans to utilize non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) providers when they live far away from a VA facility. Rounds exchanged comments with Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Commander-in-Chief John Biedrzycki and Executive Director Bob Wallace.
“Simply getting someplace where you can find appropriate health care is a challenge to begin with,” said Rounds. “I noticed in your opening statements you indicated that you really were concerned that we not privatize the VA, and yet, I don’t think that by suggesting we not privatize the VA that you were indicating an unwillingness to have non-VA services provided [to veterans].”
“We should leverage what VA has and what the community has to get the best of both worlds for the veteran so they get the health care they need in a timely manner,” replied Wallace. “It makes no sense to send somebody 200 miles because it says ‘VA’ on a structure when you can send them down the street and the VA has a contract with them and they get quality care because the VA is the guarantor managing it.”
“What I hear is, we ought to be focusing on the veteran,” replied Rounds.
Full video of the exchange during the Joint Veterans’ Affairs Committee Hearing is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8CIVqeP55Q&feature=youtu.be
