House approves $3.9B for VA health programs

Bill would extend Veterans Choice, fund new facilities.

WASHINGTON — The House overwhelmingly approved a $3.9 billion emergency spending package to address a budget shortfall at the Department of Veterans Affairs that threatens medical care for thousands of veterans.

The bill provides $2.1 billion to continue funding the Veterans Choice program, which allows veterans to receive private medical care at government expense. Another $1.8 billion would go to core VA health programs, including 28 leases for new VA medical

facilities.

The bill was approved 414-0 Friday and now goes to the Senate.

The Choice program was put in place after a 2014 waittime scandal that was discovered at the Phoenix VA hospital and spread throughout the country. Veterans waited weeks or months for appointments amid phony records that covered up the lengthy waits.

A priority of President Donald Trump, the program allows veterans to receive care from outside doctors if they must wait at least 30 days for an appointment or drive more than 40 miles to a VA facility.

VA Secretary David Shulkin has warned that without legislative action, the Choice program will run out of money by mid-August, causing delays in health care for thousands of veterans.

The bill would extend the program for six months and devote $1.8 billion to authorize 28 leases for new VA medical facilities and establish programs to make it easier to hire health specialists. Costs would be paid for by trimming pensions for some Medicaid-eligible veterans and collecting fees for housing loans.

Major veterans’ groups had opposed an earlier House plan as an unacceptable step toward privatization, leading Democrats to block that bill on Monday. The earlier plan would have trimmed VA benefits to pay for Choice without additional investments in VA infrastructure.

Leaders of the House Veterans Affairs Committee said the six-month funding plan was urgently needed and would give Congress more time to debate broader issues over the VA’s future.

Shulkin praised the House action and urged quick approval by the Senate. The legislation “will greatly benefit veterans,” he said.

Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin warned the Veterans Choice program would run out of money by mid-August.