President signs VA MISSION Act
On June 6, President Trump signed into law the John S. McCain III, Daniel K. Akaka, and Samuel R. Johnson VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act (VA MISSION Act). On May 16, the House of Representatives voted 347-70 to approve the bill, and the measure passed the Senate on May 23, by a recorded vote of 92-5.
The major provisions of the legislation would:
- Consolidate seven VA community care programs into one streamlined program.
- Remove arbitrary 30-day/40-mile barriers to veterans’ care in the community.
- Authorize access to walk-in community clinics for enrolled veterans who have previously used VA healthcare services in the last two years.
- Authorize local provider agreements to remove bureaucratic red tape and to meet veterans’ needs for care in the community.
- Create standards for timely payment to community care providers.
- Keep the cost of community care in line with the cost of VA health care to ensure a veteran does not pay more for outside care.
- Require VA to monitor the program and report to Congress on the care provided to veterans.
- Require the secretary to develop an education program to inform veterans and VA providers about veterans’ health care options.
- Establish a program to provide continuing medical education credits for community care providers on treating veterans.
- Require VA to establish and submit to Congress a strategy to ensure all VA and community care programs are operating efficiently and effectively based on a number of factors including veterans’ satisfaction and access guidelines and quality standards, among others.
- Strengthen the process for VA and partnering health-care providers who prescribe opioids to veterans.
- Ensure providers removed or suspended from VA practice do not treat veterans in the community.
- Provide $5.2 billion for the Veterans Choice Fund.
- Remove barriers for VA health-care professionals to practice telemedicine.
- Provide additional resources for hiring and retention of VA health-care professionals.
- Strengthen peer-to-peer support for veterans undergoing care for trauma or in rural areas.
- Establish mobile deployment teams for underserved and rural facilities to provide specialized and routine health care.
- Allow the VA to provide transplant procedures on a live donor.
- Allow the VA to modernize assets and infrastructure.
- Expand eligibility for VA’s Caregiver Program to veterans of all generations.
- Require VA to implement an information technology system to better support, assess and monitor the Caregiver program.