Friends,

If you have just a moment, I wanted to give you a brief update on my efforts to improve veterans’ health care.

Earlier this week, I joined Senator Kaine and 40 colleagues from both parties in raising serious concerns about the implementation of the Veterans Choice Card program, which was created as part of the VA reform legislation Congress passed last year. While I am pleased that we were able to work together to improve access to quality medical care for our veterans, too many of them are being blocked from accessing the full benefits of this program.

The Choice Card program was intended to allow veterans to access non-VA care if they live more than 40 miles from a facility, or face significant delays in scheduling. However, the VA’s narrow interpretation of the eligibility criteria still excludes many veterans in Virginia and across the country from accessing care.

One of the problems is that the VA is determining if veterans qualify by measuring the 40 miles “as the crow flies,” not the actual travel time. In some rural areas, that could mean half a day's travel to and from a facility — an especially difficult burden for seniors or veterans in poor health. The VA should be implementing this rule as Congress intended by taking into account the drive time a vet is really forced to travel in order to access a VA facility.

I was also dismayed to learn from the President's 2016 budget request that the VA has suggested reallocating part of the funding for the Veterans Choice program to other programs within the VA. The Veterans Choice program has only been around for a few short months. Instead of trying to reduce funding for this program, the VA should be trying to help it succeed by making certain that the funding provided by Congress is being used to implement the program to the fullest extent possible.

I expressed these concerns in a letter with my colleagues to VA Secretary Robert McDonald, in which we urged him to move swiftly to carry out the Veterans Choice program as Congress intended.

I will keep you updated on the VA's response to our requests. In the meantime, please know that I will keep fighting to ensure that all of our veterans have access to the care and benefits that they deserve.

Thank you,

Senator Mark R. Warner