Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement today applauding President Trump for signing into law the Veterans Choice Program Improvement Act, legislation cosponsored by Senators McCain, Jon Tester (D-MT), Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) that extends and improves the Veterans Choice Program:

“I am gratified that President Trump today signed into law legislation that eliminates the sunset date on the Veterans Choice Program and ensures veterans continue to have access to timely and convenient health care in their communities. In the wake of the terrible scandal in care at the Phoenix VA and VA hospitals around the country, we made a promise that our veterans would never again be forced to face unacceptable wait-times for appointments, or drive unreasonable distances, to get the care they need. This legislation ensures we keep that promise as we continue the hard work of fully reforming the VA and enhancing health care for all veterans.

“Since Congress passed legislation creating the Veterans Choice Program, more than a million veterans have made seven million appointments with hundreds of thousands of health care providers in their own communities using the Choice Card. This represents millions of appointments that would have otherwise lagged in the VA’s scheduling system for everything from routine check-ups and diagnostic tests to life saving heart and cancer treatment.

“As we mark the three year anniversary this month of the scandal in care at the VA, the enactment of the Veterans Choice Program Improvement Act sends an important message that we will not send our veterans back to the status quo of unending wait-times for appointments and substandard care. We have a long way to go to fully reform veterans’ health care, but today’s legislation is an important first step in that effort.”

On April 3, 2017, the Senate unanimously passed the Veterans Choice Program Improvement Act, legislation that would eliminate the August 7, 2017 sunset date of the Veterans Choice Program and allow the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to access all of the funding initially appropriated for the program until it is fully expended. The House unanimously passed the Senate legislation on April 5, 2017.

The legislation also authorizes the VA to be the primary payer under the Veterans Choice Program, reducing veterans’ out-of-pocket costs and aligning the Veterans Choice Program with the VA’s other community care programs. Further, the bill improves the sharing of medical records between the VA and community providers in the Veterans Choice Program to better coordinate care for veterans and connect them to timely care.  

The text of the legislation is here.

Read Senator McCain’s op-ed with Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) in FoxNews.com here.

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