(Concord, NH) – Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02), a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, welcomed the signing of the bipartisan compromise to reauthorize the Veterans Choice Program into law over the weekend. The reauthorization includes a provision authored by Kuster, which will help improve veterans’ access to quality care by making the Department of Veterans Affairs more competitive when hiring physician assistants.

“This reauthorization shows what we can accomplish when we put our partisan differences aside for the good of our veterans,” said Congresswoman Kuster. “We know that here in New Hampshire we need to improve access to care outside of the VA for veterans and that means improving the Choice program so that it works for all our men and women who have served. This reauthorization is an important step, but I’m committed to working with my colleagues to make the Choice program more effective and successful. I’m also pleased that my provision to increase the competitiveness of VA when hiring physician assistants was included in this reauthorization. If we can make the VA more attractive to qualified medical staff, we can improve care and services for our veterans, especially in rural New Hampshire.”

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