WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 In a fresh warning, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said Wednesday there could potentially be delays in providing medical care to tens of thousands of veterans if lawmakers don\u2019t act soon to approve billions in emergency funding for the ailing private-sector Choice program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement, Shulkin said he was heartened by several congressional bills that would provide longer-term fixes to the Department of Veterans Affairs program by giving veterans wider freedom to see private doctors at taxpayers\u2019 expense. But pointing to the lack of a clear consensus so far, Shulkin made clear he would be \u201copen\u201d to emergency short-term funding from Congress for now \u201cto ensure our veterans receive uninterrupted care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs we have made clear for many months, Congress needs to pass a bill this year,\u201d Shulkin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His statement comes as lawmakers wrestle over legislation that would overhaul Choice, amid the threat of a government shutdown over the federal budget and disagreements over cost and how much access veterans should have to private doctors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee last week passed a $54 billion bipartisan plan over five years to revamp Choice, which provides $4 billion in emergency short-term funding for Choice and other VA programs for 2018 and also expands a popular caregivers program. But the measure faces some resistance from Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Jerry Moran of Kansas, who are co-sponsoring a separate bill intended to give added access to private care \u201crather than relying on the VA bureaucracy to determine eligibility criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The House Veterans Affairs Committee, led by Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., meanwhile, has yet to reach agreement on how to pay for the $39 billion cost of its long-term proposal to revamp Choice. Republicans have proposed $2.1 billion in emergency short-term funding for Choice in a separate bill that would also establish a presidential commission to review VA facilities for possible closure, which is opposed by Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt this time, the committee is working with the department to review the Choice account and determine when that account will need additional funding,\u201d said Tiffany Haverly, Roe\u2019s spokeswoman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In September, the VA warned that Choice could run out of money sooner than expected in late December or early January, even after Congress approved $2.1 billion in emergency funding in August that was intended to last until February. Earlier this year, it began limiting referrals to outside doctors in July when money first began to run low and veterans reported delays in care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Choice program currently allows veterans to see private doctors if they must wait more than 30 days for an appointment or travel more than 40 miles to a VA facility. President Donald Trump has pledged to triple the number of veterans \u201cseeing the doctor of their choice,\u201d raising concerns among major veterans\u2019 groups about \u201cprivatization\u201d of VA care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 30 percent of VA appointments are currently made in the private sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a fresh warning, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said Wednesday there could potentially be delays in providing medical care to tens of thousands of veterans if lawmakers don\u2019t act soon to approve billions in emergency funding for the ailing private-sector Choice program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38392,"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":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[106,31,15,33,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1860],"class_list":["post-13764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-management","category-newsletters","category-pay-benefits"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"7ZTITEPPLFCUXPLHYXU2YADPS4","arc_canonical_url":"\/management\/pay-benefits\/2017\/12\/07\/shulkin-urges-emergency-aid-for-va-private-health-care-soon\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n