{"id":19853,"date":"2018-06-06T19:18:44","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T19:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/06\/more-fights-set-over-sweeping-veterans-reforms-just-signed-into-law\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:48:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:48:43","slug":"more-fights-set-over-sweeping-veterans-reforms-just-signed-into-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/06\/more-fights-set-over-sweeping-veterans-reforms-just-signed-into-law\/","title":{"rendered":"More fights set over sweeping veterans reforms just signed into law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump signed the sweeping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/05\/16\/sweeping-veterans-policy-bill-passed-overwhelmingly-in-the-house\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" data-original-title=\"\">$52 billion VA Mission Act<\/a> into law on Wednesday. Now the fight starts over what that means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The measure, which drew bipartisan support in Congress and effusive praise from Trump at a White House signing ceremony, lays the groundwork for an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/05\/23\/massive-veterans-policy-bill-heads-to-trumps-desk-but-results-will-take-time\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\">overhaul of the Veterans Affairs community care programs<\/a>, with the promise of easier access to free appointments with private-care doctors for veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But major questions remain over how the new provisions will be funded and exactly who will benefit from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/06\/04\/report-vets-still-face-long-waits-with-va-choice-program\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" data-original-title=\"\" aria-describedby=\"popover20455\">overhaul of Veterans Affairs health care offerings<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his remarks before the signing, Trump insisted the measure gives veterans \u201creal choice\u201d in their health care decisions, adding that \u201cwe\u2019ve been looking for choice for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2018\/04\/11\/vets-groups-and-lawmakers-say-theyre-against-it-but-what-does-privatization-of-veterans-affairs-really-mean\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"215\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_13102205629.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Vets groups and lawmakers say they\u2019re against it \u2014 but what does \u2018privatization\u2019 of Veterans Affairs really mean?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The term will command much of the debate at the new VA secretary&#039;s confirmation hearing, but different groups have different definitions.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Specifics of who will be eligible for the new community care offerings won\u2019t be settled for another year. Veterans groups are gearing up for months of negotiations behind the scenes on rules regarding when patients can seek outside care and what role department medical officials will have in continued oversight of their medical treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have faith this administration will properly execute on the regulatory process,\u201d said Dan Caldwell, executive director at Concerned Veterans for America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re going to be monitoring the rule-making process, and we\u2019re hopeful we\u2019ll get a good set of regulations that come out and ultimately increase choice for veterans in ways that are difficult to undermine by the bureaucracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bill also includes an expansion of caregiver benefits to veterans of all eras and plans for a review of all VA facilities in coming years, with an eye towards dramatic changes in the department\u2019s national footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the health care aspects were the most controversial and most challenging for lawmakers. Although the legislation received bipartisan support in Congress and among veterans groups, critics of Trump have warned that the reforms could open the door to widespread outsourcing of veterans medical care to private-sector doctors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That makes the upcoming rule making for the VA Mission Act a potential battlefield for both advocates and lawmakers. Numerous Democrats have accused Trump of working to privatize VA responsibilities, and major veterans groups have expressed concerns with funding being sent from within the department to outside doctors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials from Vietnam Veterans of America noted that deadlines mandating certain decisions on the new regulations be completed within 120 days have the potential to produce rushed, problematic new guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWill Congress still retain authority over this proposed shadow healthcare delivery system?\u201d asked John Rowan, executive director at VVA. \u201cOversight with accountability is not spelled out to our satisfaction in this legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cExpanding the scope of the programs and services of Choice without a firm foundation is a recipe for disaster which will ultimately cheat veterans out of the health care they have earned and deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also complicating the issue further is a memo to Hill staffers from White House officials opposing a Senate plan to raise non-defense spending caps to cover the costs of the new VA reforms. Administration officials say that money should come from cuts elsewhere in the federal bureaucracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The looming fights come after more than a year of intense debate on the issue of VA health care. More than one-third of all VA-funded medical appointments are handled outside the VA medical system, but Trump has repeatedly lamented that too many veterans are trapped using the federal system as their only health care option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf the VA can\u2019t meet the needs of a veteran in a timely manner, that veteran will have the right to go right outside to a private doctor,\u201d the president said. \u201cSo simple and yet so complex.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump praised Republican congressional leaders for passage of the measure, but did not invite Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee ranking member Jon Tester, D-Mont. and a co-author of the measure, to the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rule-making responsibilities for now fall to acting VA Secretary Peter O\u2019Rourke to oversee, although he is expected to return to his role as chief of staff after the confirmation of Robert Wilkie as the new permanent VA secretary. No timeline has been set for that process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;Because no matter where you served or when you fought, if you were in uniform, at some point if you wore that uniform then you deserve our absolute best, and that is what we are doing.&quot; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/J29jNwVpDq\">pic.twitter.com\/J29jNwVpDq<\/a><\/p>&mdash; The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WhiteHouse45\/status\/1004418451878760448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 6, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The president praised the measure as giving veterans more choice in health care, but officials still need to finalize eligibility rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":44435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["veterans","news","left-column","home","middle-column","pentagon-congress","retirement-e-report","newsletters"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"4":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home","pentagon-congress"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"6":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home","pentagon-congress"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"7":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home","pentagon-congress"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"8":{"categories":["pay-benefits","management","home","daily-brief","newsletters","acquisition-update"],"primary_category":"pay-benefits"}}},"categories":[100,23,93,12,25,68,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-19853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"D6EF7SWLHVFLHCXS2QWCQA7TAI","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2018\/06\/06\/more-fights-set-over-sweeping-veterans-reforms-just-signed-into-law\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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