Veterans' Healthcare and Benefits Update
Summary
The Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act will ensure that the men and women who have served have access to the modern, good care and services they have earned. Critically, this bipartisan legislation will grow job opportunities for veterans, improve the VA community care program to protect veterans’ healthcare, and reduce the red tape restricting access to disability benefits. Moreover, this bill will also expand elderly care options for aging veterans and improve mental health care access for veteran caregivers, allowing our veterans to have better access to the care and services they earned.
If you need help with the VA, please contact our office or the VA here.
Highlights
• Includes provisions which would fully fund the VA VET-TEC educational assistance program to expand high tech career opportunities for veterans and transitioning servicemembers. This program has an 84% graduation rate and an average starting salary of over $66,000.
• Includes the House passed Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act (H.R. 542) which would expand access to Home- and Community-Based Services at every VA medical center, which would allow severely ill and aging veterans the dignity of receiving their care at home rather than in institutions.
• Includes the Veterans Care Improvement Act (H.R. 3520) which would improve the timeliness and quality of care and services delivered to veterans under community care by improving the rate at which community care providers return medical records to the VA. This would streamline administrative processes to ensure veterans receive timely and high-quality care. It would also ensure that VA provides veterans with more information and transparency regarding their eligibility for community care.
• Includes provisions that would raise the Grant and Per-Diem rate for veteran homelessness providers who partner with VA and provide rideshares to veterans for medical, housing, and employment appointments and ensure veterans can get the resources they need to be lifted out of homelessness.
• Includes the Veterans Education Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 3874) which would cut through red tape for the GI Bill and allow student veterans to use their benefits that best meet their needs.
• Includes the Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act (H.R. 984), which would authorize VA to provide grants to state and Indian Tribes to support county Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) and tribal VSOs to provide improved outreach and assistance to underserved, rural, and Native American veterans regarding VA benefits.
• Includes the VA Office of Inspector General Training Act (H.R. 2733) which would require all new VA employees to receive training on reporting wrongdoing and cooperating with the VA Inspector General
If you have any questions or issues regarding the VA or veterans’ services and benefits, please do not hesitate to contact our office at (760) 247-1815) or here. It is an honor to serve you.