U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

June 27, 2007

CONTACT:    Cody Wertz – Comm. Director
303-350-0032


 UPDATE: Sen. Salazar Wins First Round in Fight to Improve Health Care Access for Rural Colorado Veterans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A 2004 study by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) found that even though one in four U.S. veterans lives in a rural area, these rural veterans tend to be in poorer health than those in urban or suburban areas. The distance and other difficulties associated with obtaining care causes many rural veterans to put off preventive as well as necessary treatment. The result is poorer health and increased health expenditures for these courageous Americans.

To combat this inequity, United States Senator Ken Salazar, joined by Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Jon Tester (D-MT), introduced the Rural Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2007 (S.1146) in April of this year. Earlier today, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee approved a sweeping package of veterans’ health care legislation for 2007, which included several important pieces of Senator Salazar’s rural vets bill.

“Every one of Colorado’s 424,000 veterans deserves access to the finest health care, which was promised to them by our Nation,” said Senator Salazar. “Those who live in rural communities should not be deprived access to health care just because of where they make their homes.”

Senator Salazar’s provisions in the bill approved by the Veterans’ Affairs Committee today include:

  • Innovative Programs to Improve Health Care Access for Rural Veterans that will allow the VA to partner with the Department of Health and Human Services at community health centers and the Indian Health Service. These demonstration projects will allow the VA to test new models for care that would improve access to health care for rural veterans and Native American veterans;

  • Creation of the VetsRide Grant Program, which will provide grants of up to $50,000 to veterans’ service organizations, community transportation organizations, and State veterans’ service officers to assist veterans with travel to VA medical centers. The bill authorizes up to $6 million in funding per year for this innovative new program to help veterans in rural communities who frequently face long and expensive travel to reach the nearest VA health care clinics;

  • Better Travel Reimbursements Rates for veterans’ travel expenses related to VA medical care. The mileage reimbursement rate is more than doubled, from 11 cents per mile to 28.5 cents per mile; and

  • Required Reports on the VA’s Progress toward Improving Care for Rural Veterans, including a report on the progress of the VA’s Office of Rural Health (created last year at the VA through legislation authored by Senator Salazar), the VA’s plans for using telemedicine, the expected effects of the VA putting in place a fee-basis healthcare program for rural veterans and how the VA plans to accomplish this, and the feasibility of establishing partnerships at critical access hospitals with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Having been approved by the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the veterans bill containing Sen. Salazar’s rural veterans legislation now goes to the entire Senate for consideration.

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