Latest news with #21stCenturyVeteransHealthcareandBenefitsImprovementAct


Newsweek
14-07-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
VA Announces Expansion of Benefits
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced a temporary expansion of burial benefits for certain veterans and their families. Recipients will see a temporary expansion of burial benefits thanks to the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, known as the Dole Act. The department has been contacted via email for comment. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins pictured in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins pictured in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images Why It Matters The VA is the second-largest U.S. government department, employing about 470,000 people, a quarter of whom are veterans. Some 6.2 million veterans in the United States receive disability benefits from the VA. Veterans who received VA healthcare were not always eligible for a VA-covered burial, resulting in families having to cover the costs after their deaths. This benefit from the Dole Act will mean eligible veterans will have their full burial costs covered. This temporary expansion of burial benefits comes as the department reduces its headcount as part of the Trump administration's program to downsize the federal government - although by much less than originally planned. The VA had planned to reduce its workforce to 400,000, but after much criticism last week announced it would shed fewer than 30,000 jobs this year. Some 12,000 staff will leave their roles by the end of September, after 17,000 job cuts were made between January and June. The department says it has "multiple safeguards in place to ensure these staff reductions do not impact veteran care or benefits." What To Know "The new law specifies eligible Veterans are those who are discharged from VA-provided medical or nursing care to receive VA-provided hospice care at their home and who pass away between July 1, 2025, and Oct. 1, 2026," said the VA in a statement. "Previously, Veterans who died at home under VA hospice care after discharge from VA-provided medical or nursing care were not always eligible for a full VA burial allowance. The Dole Act addresses that gap." The Dole Act was signed into law in January 2025 by then-President Joe Biden. Following its passage, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Republican Illinois Representative Mike Bost said: "The men and women who have served have earned access to a VA that puts them – not government bureaucracy – at the center of its operations. The Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act will do exactly that." The act includes several increases and changes to veterans' benefits, including changing the definition of "surviving spouse" to "someone who lived continuously with the veteran until their death and who has not remarried," and requiring the VA to create a plan for creating transitional housing grants for homeless veterans. Trump administration changes to the VA include barring transgender veterans from getting their fertility treatment covered by the VA, and increasing the VA budget by $83 billion through the recent budget. What People Are Saying VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a press release: "VA is working hard to fully implement the many provisions of the Dole Act. We're excited to offer this expanded benefit, which better supports Veterans who choose to spend their final days at home, surrounded by their loved ones." What Happens Next Families and caregivers are encouraged to contact their local VA office to determine eligibility and to apply for the expanded burial benefits. Additional details are available on the VA burial benefits website or by calling 800-827-1000.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
VA drops secondary review rule for community care medical appointments
Veterans Affairs leaders on Monday announced plans to eliminate secondary reviews for patients seeking health care consults outside of the department's medical centers, a move that could dramatically speed up the time for booking those appointments. The move was mandated by Congress last fall as a way to simplify VA's community care procedures, which allow veterans to use taxpayer dollars to receive private medical care. About 40% of all medical appointments paid for by the department are conducted by private-sector doctors, a number that has risen steadily over the last decade. But some veterans advocates have expressed concerns that as more patients — and federal funding — leave the VA health care system, the changes could weaken the department's medical centers by leaving them with fewer resources. Vets groups and lawmakers say they're against it — but what does 'privatization' of Veterans Affairs really mean? In contrast, President Donald Trump has been a vocal proponent of increasing medical care choices for veterans, pushing for expanded community care options during his first and current terms. In a statement, VA Secretary Doug Collins said implementing the congressional mandate is 'making it even easier for veterans to get their health care when and where it's most convenient for them.' Collins and conservative lawmakers have criticized President Joe Biden's administration for adding extra layers of bureaucracy to the community care program, complicating access even as the number of appointments continued to grow. 'Veterans should always have access to the best health care that meets their individual needs — whether that's inside or outside VA — and without a paperwork nightmare to make that happen,' House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., said in a statement following Monday's announcement. Democratic lawmakers backed the change in community care rules last fall, when it was passed into law as part of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. House Veterans' Affairs Committee ranking member Mark Takano, D-Calif., called VA's announcement Monday 'accomplishing the bare minimum' since the move had already been ordered by Congress. Similarly, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee ranking member Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., accused the administration of 'trying to take a victory lap for finally implementing a provision … they were required by law to put in place more than a month ago.' VA leaders said the change is effective immediately. Since 2019, veterans ruled eligible for community care appointments have been able to work with referring clinicians to find outside care, but those decisions were not considered final until they were reviewed by a second VA doctor. Veterans can qualify for community care eligibility if they live more than 30 minutes away from a VA health care facility or if their nearby clinic has a wait time of more than 20 days for primary care services or 28 days for speciality care. Current rules also provide several other exceptions for eligibility.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Veterans' VA Referrals to Private Medical Care Will No Longer Require Additional Doctor Review
The Department of Veterans Affairs has changed its process for veterans to get medical care from non-VA providers, removing a requirement that a referral to community care be reviewed by another VA doctor. The VA announced Monday that it is enacting a provision of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act that will help ease veterans' access to medical services from private providers. The law, signed in December by then-President Joe Biden, prohibits VA administrators from overriding a VA doctor's referral for a patient to get outside care. Read Next: VA to Expand Online Memorial Website to Include Veterans Buried Overseas "Now, we're making it even easier for veterans to get their health care when and where it's most convenient for them," VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement Monday. "We are putting veterans first at the department, and that means placing a premium on customer service and convenience. This important change will help us do just that." The VA Choice Act of 2014, passed in the wake of a scandal over medical appointment wait times at VA medical centers nationwide, gave veterans broader access to medical care at non-VA facilities if they faced long waits for care at a VA hospital or clinic. The Mission Act, signed by President Donald Trump in 2019, expanded the benefit to include veterans who face more than a 30-minute drive for primary care or an hour or more for specialty care, or those who can't get an appointment within 20 days for primary care and 28 days for specialty care. Under the Mission Act, eligible veterans could consult with their VA physicians to receive referrals to community care. The VA required these referrals to be reviewed internally by an administrative staff member. During congressional debate over the Elizabeth Dole Act, Republicans said the review process intentionally hampered access to community care, while Democrats argued that it was proper government oversight and that removing it was part of an overall effort to privatize VA health care. According to the law, the ban on the administrative review will remain in place for two years, after which the VA must report on its effects to Congress. An investigation last year by into the challenges faced by veterans seeking mental health treatment found that VA schedulers were pressured by hospital administrators to keep veterans at VA facilities rather than send them to community care. The Elizabeth Dole Act, first introduced in 2023, largely addressed at-home care for senior veterans and programs for the homeless. It also made changes to several VA education programs and health services. It was hotly contested, however, for the efforts to change the referral approval process and another provision that would have established new access standards for veterans to go to non-VA residential mental health and substance abuse programs. That provision was dropped during the final bill deliberations. During a hearing March 25, however, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, said a change is needed to ensure that veterans can access private residential substance abuse treatment centers. Miller-Meeks said that, in some cases, veterans who decide they need to go to a rehab facility have been told to wait because the VA can get them into a VA facility within the 20-day mental health treatment requirement set by the Mission Act. In another case, a veteran experiencing alcohol withdrawal symptoms wanted to go to a rehab in his community but was denied the referral because the VA had a bed available at a facility 100 miles away, she said. "VA claims that there is no wrong door for veterans seeking care, yet we continue to hear about doors locked, doors hidden, and doors that simply do not exist," Miller-Meeks said in a hearing of the House Veterans Affairs health subcommittee, which she chairs. Rep. Julia Brownley of California, the subcommittee's ranking Democrat, said during the hearing that any veteran who seeks residential treatment should get it, but she added that the VA has not developed a fee schedule for community treatment centers and, in at least one case, the department was charged up to $6,000 a day for one patient. Brownley also said the VA doesn't track the timeliness or quality of medical care in community residential treatment facilities. "We have no way of knowing the level of treatment or support they are getting," Brownley said. "I have said before, we must find a balance between community care and VA direct care. In my opinion, we have not found that balance when it comes to residential rehabilitation treatment facilities." In Monday's announcement, the VA said it would begin training employees to ensure that the community care referral process is followed in compliance with the Dole Act. Related: 'Disturbing' Number of VA Mental Health Appointment Cancellations Prompt Lawmakers to Call for Reforms