(Washington, DC) – Senator David Vitter (R-Louisiana) and Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., M.D., (R-South Louisiana) sent a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees requesting that the committees hold oversight hearings on the transfer of authority over payments for veterans’ emergency medical services from the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Chief Business Office under the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act (VACAA) of 2014.

In July, VISN 16, the VA network that covers healthcare for veterans in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and some veterans in Texas, Missouri, Alabama, and Florida, admitted to years of inappropriate payment denials and delays for veterans’ emergency medical care. This harmed the financial credit ratings of hundreds of Louisiana veterans. In response, Louisiana’s entire delegation followed up with a letter to the VA Secretary that remains unanswered. In meetings between the VA’s Chief Business Office and Louisiana providers last week, the VA admitted that VISN 16 effectively deprived veterans of their appeals rights by refusing to mail more than 650,000 letters in its system and keeping other appeal documents untouched in cabinets.

Earlier this year, Boustany introduced the Veterans’ Credit Protection Act to improve Congressional oversight and protect veterans from unfair medical debts. Boustany introduced the bill after he helped a South Louisiana veteran clear an unpaid bill exceeding $1000 for a hospital emergency room visit. VISN 16 had ignored its obligation to pay the bill for over two years, damaging the veteran’s credit rating.

Vitter said: “After the VA scandals that have come to light, we need to earn back the trust of our veterans. We can start by making improvements like this. Our veterans need to know that when they have medical emergencies, they can count on their bills being paid.”

Boustany said: “Congress took claims processing authorities away from VISN 16 to stop it from harming veterans’ credit ratings. The Secretary has a duty to improve performance in Louisiana, and we expect to see results. Our veterans fought and sacrificed of themselves for the greater good. The least we can do is treat them with the dignity and respect they’ve earned when they return home. I won’t accept anything less than world-class service for our veterans, and I will continue to expose VA failures until we reach that standard.”