Trump Signs Law to Give Veterans More Healthcare Options

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed legislation that would reform the Department of Veterans Affairs, giving veterans more access to private healthcare options.

The legislation passed last month with substantial bipartisan support: the measure passed in the Senate with a 92-5 margin, something quite rare for any legislation, and certainly a victory for President Trump. The House also passed the measure with overwhelming support (347-70).

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was particularly confident in this new legislation. He stated: “This bicameral, bipartisan bill contains significant reforms to the Department of Veterans Affairs which will increase and strengthen the healthcare and community care options available to America’s veterans.”

At the signing ceremony, the president stated: “What a beautiful word that is — choice — and freedom to our amazing veterans. All during the campaign I’d go out and say, ‘why can’t they just go see a doctor instead of standing in line for weeks and weeks and weeks?’ Now they can go see a doctor.”

Further details on how this new legislation will work and directly benefit veterans are still to come. If Trump’s pick for VA Secretary Robert Wilkie gets elected and becomes the institution’s leader, it will be his responsibility to explain those details. So far, the VA Mission act consists of a partnership and union of several already existing private care programs. Among these is the controversial Choice program, which was created in 2014 after several veterans passed away while still waiting for doctor appointments.

Two veterans were invited to the signing event, and both stated their approval and excitement towards these new regulations. They stressed that they previously had to drive several hours in order to reach the nearest VA hospital and that these new laws will bring more comfort and better service to veterans. The bill also remarks that the hospitals’ facilities are in need of improvement and better care, with new hospitals being created and another shut down because of inefficiency.

The measure encourages the VA to create partnerships with more health care providers, and it also offers scholarships to medical students who choose to work in VA-owned facilities. The department is still looking to fill over thirty-three thousand positions.  The new legislation is also targeted to help pre-9/11 veterans specifically, covering costs of in-home caregivers, which was not previously available for them.

The passing of this measure shows consistency with Trump’s campaign promises to help veterans and provide them with more health care options. Even so, the president has also been engaged in controversy, with several veteran groups complaining about his tweet on Memorial Day. The tweet read: “Happy Memorial Day! Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud of how well our country is doing today. Best economy in decades, lowest unemployment numbers for Blacks and Hispanics EVER (& women in 18years), rebuilding our Military and so much more. Nice!”

The tweet was regarded as selfish and opportunist, using a holiday targeted to remember American soldiers to praise his administration.

This is not the only issue that Robert Wilkie will have to address if he is to become VA Secretary.  The cases of veterans in 2014 showed that the Department-funded hospitals have serious scheduling issues, especially in North Carolina and Virginia. Thousands of veterans had to wait thirty days to receive care and appointments, and even more were denied attention. The quality of attention is also of concern to the public, as several customers have stated problems in the way they were treated.

Featured Image via: Wikimedia Commons