House Votes for Better Health Care Management for Veterans
WOUNDED WARRIOR
The New London Day
Renée Dudley
Boston University Washington News Service
March 28, 2007
WASHINGTON, March 28 – The House voted unanimously Wednesday to require better and more individualized case management for veterans receiving outpatient health care and for the creation of a new hotline for reporting deficiencies in health care facilities.
Aiming to reduce bureaucratic procedures in the wake of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act also would require the Department of Defense to physically provide medical records of retiring or separating veterans to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
During debate before Wednesday’s vote, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) called the existing method for the transfer of medical records “inexcusable,” saying it is the biggest problem with the current system and has left some servicemen unaccounted for. He noted that patients in Connecticut sometimes wait more than 600 days for claims to be processed.
“There is a poor system of interface between the two” departments in caring for veterans, Courtney said in an interview last week. With the passage of the bill, he said, “there won’t be this paper chase that’s going on right now that’s slowing down and backing up the system.”
Courtney successfully offered an amendment in the House Armed Services Committee to take the bill a step further by requiring that the Department of Veterans Affairs also notify the state veterans affairs departments when a veteran is returning home.
“The state VA can’t even get involved to help people because they don’t know when people are getting discharged back to Connecticut,” Courtney said, noting that the Connecticut Department of Veterans’ Affairs offers programs beyond the offerings of the federal department , including educational benefits, tax abatements and certain job preferences in hiring for state employment.
“The quicker the DVA can start interacting with the families and the veterans, the more help they can get,” Courtney said.
Because some opponents said the release of a veteran’s contact information would be an invasion of the veteran’s privacy, he said, the measure was amended to require a veteran to consent to the release of information to the state departments.
Commissioner Linda Schwartz of the Connecticut Department of Veterans’ Affairs said her office has advocated for this measure in the past.
But she said she worries that some veterans who have traumatic brain injury may be unsure of how to respond to the question about keeping their contact information private. “Leaving it up to the veterans sometimes is not as productive as it could be,” she said.
Schwartz said she herself was a reservist injured in an aircraft accident while on active duty and had to wait three years before receiving help from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
With the service member’s consent, members of Congress also would be notified every time a patient from their district is being treated within the Veterans Affairs health care system. Courtney explained: “If I’m notified there is someone from Vernon, for example, that is going to be treated, we’ll certainly assign a staffer to let them know contact info for their families to let them be in touch.”
The bill also would assign each veteran a case care manager to assist with medical care, a service member advocate to assist with the patient’s general welfare and quality of living and an officer from the physical evaluation board to ensure consistency and fairness in determining disability ratings.
“When you’re at war, it’s the last time you want to skimp on programs for your servicemen and women,” Schwartz said. “If something happens, they have to be able to trust that this system will be there for them when they get back.”
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