Chellie Pingree sponsors legislation to address lack of communication that keeps veterans from knowing what health benefits they qualify for

Today Congresswoman Chellie Pingree testified before the Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health on legislation she has recently introduced to give veterans a clearer understanding of the benefits they have earned, qualify for—and currently struggle to claim.

“All too often, a veteran will visit a VA hospital, ask how to file a claim for a condition caused by their service, and are either given no information, the wrong information, or the understanding that their claim is underway when it is not,” said Pingree. “I’ve received too many calls from veterans struggling through bureaucracy to get the benefits they qualify for because they didn’t get the right information up front.”

Pingree’s bill, the Inform All Veterans Act, addresses a lack of communication between two branches of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). The bill would require the VHA to ask a veteran during the hospital check-in process if they would like information about the disability claims process. If the veteran says yes, the hospital would have to provide easy-to-understand literature that outlines how to contact the VBA for information on benefits.

“We have a responsibility to take care of our veterans, but I’m very disappointed that we are missing a critical step: informing them of the care and benefits their service has earned,” said Pingree. “We should be doing everything we can to cut the red tape that prohibits many veterans from even filing a claim. This legislation is a commonsense approach to tearing down some of those barriers.”

Making sure veterans get the benefits they’ve earned is a priority issue for Pingree. She wrote legislation passed in the Defense Authorization Act for FY2011 requiring that members of the National Guard and Reserves get counseling on benefits for which they may qualify before being discharged. She also fought to make Anthem change its decision to deny a half-million dollars in veterans’ claims at VA Togus Hospital in Maine.

Pingree also voted to support advanced appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs so it can effectively plan and provide services for veterans into the future.