This morning during a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing on the implementation of the Veterans Choice Card program, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) urged VA officials to encourage measures that would ensure continuity of care between the VA and community service providers. Today’s hearing was held to assess the success and limitations of the Veterans Choice Card program, and to identify areas of improvement.

“We must ensure that our veterans can receive the highest quality of care, regardless of their location,” said Congresswoman Annie Kuster. “That’s why we must put mechanisms in place to encourage continuity of care between the VA and any local providers that are serving our veterans. When a veteran visits a medical center, that center should be able to easily access that veteran’s medical records electronically, which will cut down on the possibility of medical error and increase efficiency of care. Let’s make sure all of our local VAs have the capability to provide this support for our veterans, even when they are visiting non-VA facilities.”

During today’s hearing, Members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee heard from a number of VA officials and advocates, including VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson, about the current status of the Veterans Choice Card program and steps that need to be taken to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the program. During the discussion, Members raised concerns about lack of coordination between the VA and third party administrators of care, including electronic network issues. Congresswoman Kuster encouraged the VA to work with local VAs, to ensure that continuity of care can still be offered even as the network issues are continuing to be resolved. 

A Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee since taking office, Congresswoman Kuster helped lead the investigation into mismanagement scandals at the VA last summer, and she pushed for inclusion of the Veterans Choice Card program in comprehensive VA reform legislation that was introduced as a result of the scandals in order to increase access to care for veterans across the nation. Since then, Kuster has been named Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and she has continuously fought for full funding of, and improvements to, the Choice Card Program. This program is particularly valuable in New Hampshire’s North Country, where many veterans have been forced to drive over 100 miles in order to receive care at the closest VA clinic.

###