The U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will hold a field hearing in Alaska on veterans health care in the state.
Alaska’s Junior Senator Dan Sullivan referred to the state’s increasing problem as a ‘five alarm fire’.
Sen. Sullivan: “After what’s been going on in my state the last few months, I’m starting to lose patience. As you know Dr. Jane, the Choice Act, in many ways, took some of the positive aspects in what we were actually doing in Alaska in regard to VA health care.”
Alaska was one of the first state’s to offer veteran health care outside of the VA system, making it more feasible for veterans all over the state.
Sen. Sullivan requested the hearing to discuss how the new federal program, The Choice Act, will impact the state’s current veterans’ access.
Sen. Sullivan: “Part of the problem that we’ve seen with this crisis is this issue of the lack of accountability that has been an ongoing matter that we’ve discussed today but has been ongoing for months. We worked, my staff, Senator Murkowski’s staff, worked with the local VA in Alaska. They helped us identify these problems with regard to the implementation to the Choice Act, they knew it was a problem. And then when we raised it to senior staff in Washington [D.C.], you know what they said? This is not our fault.”
That hearing will take place in August.