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WASHINGTON- Yesterday, after the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee unanimously passed a bill that would expand emergency care coverage for veterans, Congressman Henry E. Brown Jr. (R-SC), the Ranking Republican Member of the Veterans Affairs’ Subcommittee on Health, made the following statement:
“This legislation is essential in effectively providing health care coverage for our nation’s heroes and I am pleased at the unanimous support from my colleagues. H.R. 1377 would amend the current law and allow the VA to pay the remaining portion of an emergency care bill if a veteran’s private insurance only partially pays for the care.
At the present time, the VA can only reimburse a veteran who is given emergency care in a non-VA facility if they do not have any other insurance, causing veterans to travel long distances to VA facilities to avoid being personally liable for the cost of the treatment.
This legislation will ensure that our veterans never have to worry about financing a trip to the emergency room and can, instead, focus solely on reaching the nearest hospital and receiving immediate care.”
Additionally, the committee unanimously passed HR 1171, The Homeless Veterans Reintegration Reauthorization Act of 2009, legislation that extends the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), a program that provides grants to local homeless veteran’s service organizations for job training, through 2014. An attached amendment would extend the HVRP’s services to homeless female veterans and homeless veterans with children.
Also agreed upon unanimously by the committee was H.R. 1513, The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, legislation that increases rates of disability, dependency and indemnity compensation for wartime disabilities, benefits, clothing allowance, and surviving spouses and children.
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