A new bill would expand the health care landscape for veterans.
Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) introduced the “Care for Our Heroes Act” last week in the House of Representatives, which would mandate that all veterans are eligible for U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs’ hospice care when they need it.
Currently, veterans who have not enrolled in the VA system in the past for prior care, or do not fit the family income and asset brackets identified by the VA are ineligible.
“This gap in VA coverage was brought to my attention during one of my Veterans Advisory meetings this spring,” says Congressman Collins in a news release. “With the complex bureaucracy of the VA, the Care for our Heroes Act will ensure that we have straight-forward rules to protect those who served when it comes to hospice care.”
Collins’ bill has been referred the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
The bill comes about in the midst of allegations surrounding VA employees’ misconduct.
VA Secretary Eric Shinseki issued a message to veterans May 23 saying the VA will “do even better” than it has in the past.
Since 2009 the VA has enrolled two million veterans in high-quality VA healthcare, Shinseki says.
Written by Cassandra Dowell
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