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Senator Hassan’s Bipartisan Bill to Make it Easier for Veterans to Schedule Medical Appointments Advances out of Committee

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Also Advances Additional Hassan-Led Bills

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC) unanimously voted to advance bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and John Boozman (R-AR) to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) health care scheduling process so that veterans can easily schedule multiple visits at once through one phone call or online.

“Our veterans should not have to navigate a maze of scheduling systems to get the health care that they’ve earned and deserve,” said Senator Hassan. “This bipartisan legislation will create a one-stop scheduling solution that will make it easier for veterans, particularly those traveling long distances from rural communities, to access quality health care. I am glad to see this commonsense bill advance, and I will continue working to get it signed into law.”

Currently, veterans do not have access to one centralized platform to schedule appointments for many types of VA-based specialty care. Veterans often prefer to schedule many of their appointments for the same day – in order to avoid multiple trips to the VA – but they frequently have to call individual clinics to set up appointments for specialty care. Attempting to coordinate multiple appointments through multiple phone calls and trips places a burden on all veterans, but particularly on veterans who must travel a long distance for appointments. The Improving Veteran Access to Care Act would address this issue by requiring the VA to create a streamlined scheduling system where veterans can easily view and schedule appointments for all types of VA care.

In addition to the Improving Veteran Access to Care Act, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee also voted to advance the following bipartisan bills that Senator Hassan has led on:

  • The Veterans Mental Health and Addiction Therapy Quality of Care Act, which Senator Hassan helped introduce, would require the VA to enter into an agreement with an independent, outside organization to conduct a study on the quality-of-care difference between mental health and addiction therapy provided by VA health care providers compared to non-Department providers.
  • The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, which Senator Hassan helped introduce, aims to increase the rates of various types of VA benefits, including service-connected disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans. This bill ensures that veterans’ benefits keep pace with benefit increases for Social Security.
  • The Service Dogs Assisting Veterans (SAVES) Act, which Senator Hassan cosponsored, would require the VA to establish a pilot program to award grants to nonprofits that provide service dogs to eligible veterans.
  • The Veterans Accessibility Advisory Committee Act, which Senator Hassan cosponsored, would require the VA to establish an advisory committee on matters relating to accessibility of the Department for individuals with disabilities.
  • The Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act, cosponsored by Senator Hassan, which would require the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a program to identify deceased Jewish members of the Armed Forces who were buried in U.S. military ceremonies abroad under a marker that indicates the member was not Jewish, and to contact survivors and descendants of these members.
  • The Veteran Caregiver Reeducation, Reemployment, and Retirement Act, which Senator Hassan cosponsored, would provide additional support for certain caregivers for veterans.

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