VA cuts could imperil ambulance rides for vets, others
Leave no service member behind. That is something I learned in the U.S. Navy, and a core principle instilled in every U.S. military member — whether soldier, sailor, airman or Marine.
It’s a lesson the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would do well to remember.
Because, in an attempt to cut costs, the VA is set to reduce access to lifesaving care needed by veterans in Arizona and nationwide.
In February 2024, the VA is scheduled to slash reimbursement rates paid anytime a veteran requires air or ground ambulance transport during a medical emergency.
Even worse, if an ambulance crew makes the decision to take a veteran to a non-VA medical facility – as often happens during emergencies when every second counts – the VA will no longer provide any reimbursement whatsoever.
Who will pick up the tab?
In all likelihood, it will be the veteran him or herself, socked with hundreds or even thousands of dollars in unexpected costs.
Industry experts warn enactment of the VA cuts will lead to ambulance operators closing bases and pulling out of communities, especially rural areas where access to emergency medical services can already be challenging.
It won’t only be veterans impacted by a loss of ambulance service, though. Anyone needing ambulance service in an affected community will pay the price.
“Ambulance deserts” – areas without reliable service – are already a worsening phenomenon nationwide. An estimated 4.5 million Americans live in communities where, during a medical emergency, the nearest ambulance staffed by EMTs is at least 25 minutes away.
These numbers will only grow if the VA’s cost-cutting plan takes effect and ambulance operators find it no longer feasible to operate in certain communities, including rural areas where an estimated 1 in 4 veterans live.
It shouldn’t be this way.
Fortunately, bipartisan federal legislation known as the VA Emergency Transportation Access Act would prevent the VA from cutting reimbursement rates such as this unless the agency has fully reviewed the impact to veterans’ health-care access, consulted veterans service organizations and industry experts, and taken into account the actual costs of the service being provided.
Veterans advocacy groups like the American Legion, VFW and Paralyzed Veterans of America have endorsed the legislation, as have the International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians and more.
I was born in Panama and immigrated to this country as a child with my parents. To help repay this blessing, I immediately enlisted in the U.S. Navy after graduating high school.
I’m now retired from the military but am proud to have served more than two decades with the Navy and Navy Reserves — including one deployment to Afghanistan.
There are more than a half-million veterans in Arizona. We share a bond of service and sacrifice, as well as a simple promise made by our government to look after us during our time of need.
The VA must not be allowed to walk away from this promise in the name of budget cuts.
My message to Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly and Arizona’s entire House delegation is simple: Ensure the VA keeps its word. Support the VA Emergency Transportation Access Act.