Stupak supports better health care for U.S. military

NEWS RELEASE

CONGRESSMAN BART STUPAK 1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

************************* U.S. House passes "Wounded Warrior" bill

WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to respond to problems brought to light by the scandal at Walter Reed Medical Center.

Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) voted for the legislation, saying the bill would improve military health care and Veterans' Affairs (VA) facilities throughout the country.

"The reports last month concerning abhorrent living conditions and administrative errors at Walter Reed were shocking to all Americans," Stupak [shown] said.

"The legislation passed by the House will aggressively tackle problems that plague not only Walter Reed, but other military and VA health care facilities that serve our nation's wounded soldiers."

The legislation, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act, includes a number of provisions aimed at providing wounded military personnel and veterans adequate health care.

For instance, the bill improves training and reduces caseloads for medical care case managers, so that wounded service members and their families receive the help they need, when they need it.

The bill also creates a system of patient advocates to represent outpatients and ensure outpatients receive the proper treatment.

The bill also requires Department of Defense (DOD) to establish a toll-free hot line for reporting deficiencies in facilities supporting medical patients and family members, requiring rapid responses to remediate complaints.

The bill further instructs DOD to annually recommend improvements in the training of health care professionals, medical care case managers, and patient advocates to increase their effectiveness in assisting service members recovering from wounds.

The bill begins the process of reforming administrative processes in order to restore the integrity and efficiency of the disability evaluation system.

For example, the bill requires DOD to establish a standardized training program and curriculum for those involved in the disability evaluation system.

"These are common sense reforms to make sure that when wounded soldiers return home, they are not abandoned by the system or lost in bureaucracy," Stupak noted.

"This legislation will help ensure scandals like the one at Walter Reed will not happen again. All of us owe our wounded heroes a medical system that honors and provides for their sacrifice. This legislation is a good start."

The House-passed legislation also includes a provision championed by Stupak that would raise the reimbursement rate for veterans who travel to health care facilities.

Veterans traveling long distances to receive medical care currently depend on reimbursement through the VA Beneficiary Travel program.

However, the reimbursement rate for this program has not been updated in thirty years, leaving wounded veterans to deal with the rising cost of gas, maintenance, and other travel expenses out of their own pockets.

The bill raises the reimbursement rate for veterans from 11 cents to 48.5 cents to match that of federal employees.

"Why should a veteran driving 100 miles across the state for medical care be reimbursed only $11.00, when a federal employee receives $48.50 for going the same distance in his own car?" Stupak noted.

"It simply does not make sense for the VA to use a lower reimbursement rate than what is considered reasonable for Federal employees. This measure corrects a problem that is felt acutely by veterans in rural areas and reflects legislation I have introduced since 2000."

The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Stupak's congressional district, Michigan's 1st, is home to more veterans than any other congressional district in Michigan.

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