September 15, 2005
Contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

(Washington, DC) A bill sponsored by Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to improve the health care of the nation's veterans was approved today by the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. The "Veterans Health Care Act of 2005" now goes to the floor of the Senate for a vote.

"This legislation is important to veterans across the nation," Craig said. "My hope is that we can move forward quickly and get it passed by the Senate before the end of this year."

Among many provisions, Craig's bill provides free health care for veterans in the area impacted by Hurricane Katrina. That free care would end January 31, 2006. "If Congress determines that there is still a need, we can extend that deadline," Craig said.

The legislation would also allow VA to reimburse enrolled veteran's for the money they spend after receiving emergency treatment in a non-VA facility.

"What VA has discovered is that in emergencies, some veterans have been skipping nearby hospitals to go to VA hospitals ? often further away. Sometimes those decisions have resulted in adverse health consequences. Hopefully this change will encourage veterans in need of emergency service to seek the closest medical care available," Craig said.

The Idaho Republican's bill also directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to expand and improve mental health care services, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) care provided to veterans, and expand counseling through tele-health linkages.

If the bill is approved by Congress and signed into law, the VA would also be able to conduct a study on finding financial efficiencies within the veterans' health care system.

"VA's ?conservative' estimate is that such a study could eventually enable us to save taxpayers $1.3 billion over five years. Some people fear that this will mean a loss of jobs. I disagree. With $1.3 billion in savings, VA could hire 14,000 additional employees to provide better patient care. In this time of tight budgets, we need to harness the phenomenal efficiencies of the free market and get better health care results at the same time," Craig said.

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