Trump Signs VA MISSION ACT OF 2018

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP PROVIDES RESOURCES FOR VETERANS TO GET THE CARE THEY DESERVE FROM THE DOCTORS THEY WANT
“My pledge to you, our noble warriors, is that my Administration will support you, and your loved ones, and your amazing families every single day, now and always.” – President Donald J. Trump



FUNDING HEALTHCARE FOR OUR VETERANS: Today, the President signed legislation providing our veterans with the funding they have earned through their sacrifices for our country.

· President Trump signed S. 2372, the John S. McCain III, Daniel K. Akaka, and Samuel R. Johnson VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act of 2018, or the VA MISSION Act of 2018.

· America’s veterans deserve timely access to the highest quality of care possible and funding for the programs that keep them healthy and well.

o That is why President Trump and the Department of Veterans Affairs worked closely with Congress and Veterans Service Organizations to create draft legislation to support our veterans.

· The VA MISSION Act provides $5.2 billion in mandatory funding for the Veterans Choice program until a new consolidated program is implemented, which provides veterans with flexibility to receive care at both Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and private health facilities.

· Since its creation in 2014, more than two million veterans have used the Veterans Choice program and have scheduled more than 41 million appointments in their communities.

STREAMLINING VETERANS CHOICE: The VA MISSION Act consolidates the VA’s community care programs, creating a new, single program for veterans care.

· The VA MISSION Act takes the long-overdue step of consolidating the complex, bureaucratic web created by seven different veterans community care programs into one unified program, simplifying and strengthening healthcare opportunities for America’s veterans.

o The new program is projected to take effect one year from enactment.

· The new consolidated program will increase transparency and accountability, and ensure that veterans receive the right care at the right time with the right provider.

· The bill also accelerates the processing of claims by community providers so that they are addressed in a prompt and timely manner.

· The bill authorizes access to walk-in community clinics, so that veterans have immediate, local access to non-emergency convenience care.

· The new program strengthens the process between the VA and the community healthcare providers who prescribe opioids to veterans.

IMPROVING AND EXPANDING CARE: The VA MISSION Act provides new resources and creates new programs to build on and improve the care our veterans receive.

· The VA MISSION Act expands eligibility for the Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers program, allowing caregivers for all veterans to access.

· The bill removes barriers for telemedicine, provides additional resources for hiring and retaining healthcare professionals, and establishes mobile deployment teams to support underserved facilities, among other important steps to improve veterans’ care.

· The bill further allows the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure to serve our veterans in the best possible way.