A measure that would improve access to health care services in rural America needs quick action, according to U.S. Sen. Al Franken.
Franken Wednesday told members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee that rural veterans in Minnesota and across the country often find that badly-needed health care services are unavailable in their communities and he urged them to act quickly on his Rural Veterans Health Care Improvement Act.
Franken, D-Minn., and Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., introduced the measure last November after hearing about the struggles veterans living in Minnesota’s rural communities were facing to get the care they need.
“The purpose of our legislation is very straightforward and very important: To improve access to quality health care for our nation’s veterans living in rural areas,” Franken told the committee. “Like many, my state of Minnesota has a lot of veterans who live in rural areas. Nationwide, over 40 percent of all veterans enrolled in the VA system live in rural areas. That presents a challenge to accessing to quality health care through VA... Our legislation will ensure that VA improves access to care for rural veterans, so that they can get the excellent health care they deserve. We owe them nothing less.”
Koochiching County Veterans Service Officer Kathy Sikkila said she supports Franken’s efforts toward improving access to health care for rural veterans.
“We’ve got a lot of elderly vets and it’s hard for them to travel, even by the van (supported by the county and the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2948),” she said.
Now, she said, veterans must travel to Minneapolis for care or choose a clinic closer to their homes, such as in Cook and Hibbing. But seeking care at those clinics still require a more than 70-mile drive. And, she said because so many veterans in those areas are using those clinics, appointments often take two months from the first call by the vet.
In emergencies, veterans can be seen at the Rainy Lake Medical Center hospital campus, said Sikkila, but the hospital is required to contact the VA hospital in Minneapolis, where a decision is made about whether the vet’s health concern will be covered.
“I’d really like to see more community based outpatient clinics (CBOC) in more rural areas,” said Sikkila. “More contract for fee and CBOCs would be a good thing for up here.”
Franken’s Rural Veterans Health Care Improvement Act will help the VA better manage resources and ensure that the Office of Rural Health achieves its important mission, he said. The bill requires the VA to develop a five-year strategic plan for the Office of Rural Health within six months of enactment. The plan must include goals and objectives for:
• Recruiting and retaining Veterans Health Administration health care personnel in rural areas.
• Ensuring timeliness and quality of care by VHA in rural areas through contract and fee-basis providers.
• The implementation, expansion, and enhanced use of telemedicine in rural areas.
• The full and effective use of VA’s mobile outpatient clinics.
• The modification of ORH funding allocation mechanisms so that the funds actually go to initiatives and projects that improve access to and quality of care for rural veterans.
In addition, the strategic plan must include procedures for soliciting from VA rural providers a statement of their clinical capacity, how they handle emergencies that exceed that capacity, including mental health emergencies, and how they provide and coordinate health care for women veterans.
