Congressman Sander Levin

Veterans Health Care

I strongly supported the 2010 budget resolution which calls for $53.4 billion in funding for veterans’ programs, $5.6 billion (11.7 percent) more than the 2009 level. Since January 2007 the Democratic-led Congress has pushed through a series of historic funding increases for veterans’ health care and other services resulting in better health care for the VA’s 5.8 million patients and the addition of more than 8,000 new doctors and nurses.

The budget resolution also calls for an end to the Bush Administration’s ban on enrolling modest-income veterans for VA health care and affirms the VA policy that veterans with service-connected disabilities will continue to get the high quality health care they deserve.

Emergency Care

If a veteran with private insurance seeks emergency care at a non-VA facility they may be burdened with any portion of the emergency care bill that their private insurance does not cover. This inequity has caused many veterans undue stress and has placed them in unnecessary financial hardship. I support H.R. 1377 which requires the VA to pay for emergency care in a non-VA facility, even if the veteran holds a policy that will pay for any portion of their care.

Medical Facilities

Two years ago, the Washington Post reported the results of a four-month investigation at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center that uncovered the shocking living conditions, inattentive care and bureaucratic hassles experienced by some of the wounded soldiers who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan and are now outpatients.

In response to these shocking reports, Congress passed legislation to improve outpatient medical care and restore integrity and efficiency to disability evaluations. This included the implementation of a single, accurate paperless health record which will follow a soldier from enlistment through retirement. Additionally, the Recovery Act, or Stimulus, provides a $1.4 billion increase for the maintenance at VA medical facilities, construction of veterans’ extended care facilities, and veteran cemetery repairs.

(Updated June 18, 2009)