{"id":36780,"date":"2018-05-23T20:08:54","date_gmt":"2018-05-23T20:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/23\/massive-veterans-policy-bill-heads-to-trumps-desk-but-results-will-take-time\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:52:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:52:52","slug":"massive-veterans-policy-bill-heads-to-trumps-desk-but-results-will-take-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2018\/05\/23\/massive-veterans-policy-bill-heads-to-trumps-desk-but-results-will-take-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Massive veterans policy bill heads to Trump\u2019s desk, but results will take time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/05\/16\/sweeping-veterans-policy-bill-passed-overwhelmingly-in-the-house\/\" title=\"\" class=\"selected-link\" target=\"_blank\" data-original-title=\"\">A sweeping $52 billion veterans legislative package<\/a> finalized by the Senate Wednesday will have wide-ranging effects on service members of every generation and their family members, but most of the impact won\u2019t be seen until years from now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s because most provisions of the measure \u2014 which include overhauling the Department of<a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/04\/30\/vas-next-big-problem-key-health-care-program-is-running-out-of-money-again\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\"> Veterans Affairs community care programs<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/rebootcamp.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/05\/12\/va-officials-still-searching-for-fixes-to-caregiver-stipend-program\/\" title=\"\" class=\"selected-link\" target=\"_blank\" data-original-title=\"\">expanding caregiver benefits<\/a> to older veterans \u2014 will take months or years to put in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bill, dubbed the VA Mission Act, was passed easily by the Senate after a 92-5 vote. House lawmakers overwhelmingly passed it last week. It now heads to the White House, where President Donald Trump has already signaled he\u2019ll sign it into law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c(This bill) gives a real choice, real opportunity to make the private sector a force-multiplier for access to health care for our veterans,\u201d Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said before his chamber\u2019s vote. \u201cIt also makes our health care system for our veterans accountable to the most important people of all, and that\u2019s our veterans.\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\/05\/16\/sweeping-veterans-policy-bill-passed-overwhelmingly-in-the-house\/\" 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=\"196\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_16190749319719.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\">Sweeping veterans policy bill passed overwhelmingly in the House<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The VA Mission Act, expected to be taken up quickly in the Senate, includes new community care rules, a caregiver stipend expansion and more.<\/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\">A day earlier, committee ranking member Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., called the measure a tremendous benefit to veterans and insurance against efforts to dismantle VA medical care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe need private health care to fill in gaps when VA cannot provide services,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I also know how much veterans need the services they do get from VA \u2026 The best defense against efforts to privatize VA and send veterans in a wholesale fashion to the private sector is to make sure VA is living up to its promises.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Privatization has been the buzzword around nearly every veterans policy debate in the last year, and especially since former VA Secretary David Shulkin said he was forced out of office in March by political operatives within the administration looking to erode department medical efforts and send more patients to private-sector clinics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Currently, more than a third of all VA funded medical appointments take place in the private sector. About 30,000 appointments a day are funded through the VA Choice program alone, one of seven different community care programs run by department officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>New community care rules in a year<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The VA Mission Act sets out the outline to consolidate those disjointed programs into a single new funding stream, with the goal of simplifying use for veterans and medical providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It requires veterans to become eligible for private-sector care options if VA does not provide adequate medical options for patients, including long travel times, long wait times or poor service ratings. It revises payment rates for community care to Medicare rates, to ease concerns about reimbursement for those visits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it would also authorize two walk-in visits at local private-sector offices for any veterans who have used department health care services in the last two years. Those appointments may require a co-pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But VA officials would remain at the core of veterans health decisions. Union officials have said that\u2019s not enough to stem concerns about resources being shifted to private care, but Democratic supporters like Tester insist it\u2019s an important distinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Working out the eligibility standards for who can receive outside care and how those decisions will be made is expected to take about a year. That means most veterans won\u2019t see any change in how their medical appointment requests are handled until at least spring 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the meantime, the bill includes $5.2 billion in bridge funding for the existing VA Choice program, to ensure that current private-sector medical appointments for veterans aren\u2019t interrupted.<\/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\"><b>New caregivers stipends at least two years away<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the caregivers stipend expansion could affect more than 41,000 veteran families in coming years, but similarly won\u2019t be implemented immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under current law, only caregivers of veterans from the post-9\/11 era are eligible for monthly stipends through the department. The new proposal would expand that to veterans of all eras, first starting with pre-1975 veterans and later phasing in the remaining group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That will take place two years after the next VA secretary certifies to Congress that its information technology systems are ready to handle the new workload, after concerns over the past year that current VA stipends for caregivers are handled inconsistently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA officials have not said how long that work may take. Critics of the measure have said they worry the volume of new applicants could overwhelm the existing system, hurting benefits delivery to existing participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House and Senate lawmakers have vowed close oversight on the issue in months to come.<\/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\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/05\/03\/va-secretary-vows-to-expand-services-with-or-without-more-funding\/\" 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=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shulkin-va.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\">VA secretary vows to expand services, with or without more funding<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">David Shulkin has promised to provide more mental health support and caregiver stipends.  <\/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\"><b>Asset review results in 2022<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An review of VA facilities \u2014 similar to the military\u2019s base closing commissions, although supporters bristle at the comparison \u2014 is the third major initiative in the VA Mission Act but won\u2019t have any real impact for another four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s because under the measure, the first report to Congress on possible VA facility closings or expansions won\u2019t come until sometime in 2022, after years of study and deliberation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legislation calls for the president to establish a nine-member Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission, with representatives from veterans service organizations, the health care industry and federal facility management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The panel would meet in coming years to set parameters for their work, with an eye towards \u201cthe modernization or realignment of Veterans Health Administration facilities.\u201d That could include closing, reducing or expanding a host of VA health facilities across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But VA officials have repeatedly warned that their current footprint includes hundreds of outdated or obsolete facilities, and department administrators have severe restrictions on managing those locations.<\/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\/2017\/10\/12\/lawmakers-take-first-steps-towards-a-brac-for-va-facilities\/\" 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=\"202\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/T6T35TFIFJCHXCMW3Q6B25CFEQ-1.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\">Lawmakers take first steps toward a BRAC for VA facilities<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Supporters admit the idea of closing VA buildings nationwide will be controversial, but said too many existing facilities are aging and underused.<\/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\"><b>Immediate results?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite those long-term impacts, numerous lawmakers and advocates characterized the legislation passage as an immediate win for veterans. In the lead-up to the vote, more than 40 different veterans organizations offered support for the massive policy bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis piece of legislation has been years in the making,\u201d said Louis Celli, executive director of the American Legion. \u201cAll of the different components that went into this are things our groups collectively have worked on for a great number of years. So this is a great accomplishment, and we\u2019re proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kent., said passage of the measure \u201cgives our veterans more of the support that they need\u201d by reforming the department. Sen. Jim Lankford, R-Okla., said the measure will \u201chelp our veterans know that they will be taken care of in the best possible way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tester lauded the result but also said the ambitious legislative package \u201cputs a lot of pressure on VA to deliver.\u201d Advocates have said the next fight will be monitoring how the department implements the various initiatives in coming months, a process that likely will result in more congressional hearings and contentious negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">White House officials have not said when the president is expected to sign the measure. VA officials have warned that the legislation needs to be enacted before the end of the month to prevent funding disruptions with the current VA choice program.<\/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;Overall it strikes a balance between improving internal capacity &amp; relying on the private sector when needed b\/c VA can\u2019t be everything to everyone. VA MUST remain the coordinator &amp; guarantor of care <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/ForVeterans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ForVeterans<\/a>. This bill does that.&quot; VFW&#39;s Carlos Fuentes <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/CompleteTheMISSION?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CompleteTheMISSION<\/a><\/p>&mdash; VFW National HQ (@VFWHQ) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/VFWHQ\/status\/998952608902598656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 22, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\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\">Read the full statement on the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/VAMISSIONAct?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#VAMISSIONAct<\/a> cloture vote from <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DAVHQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DAVHQ<\/a> National Commander, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/USArmy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@USArmy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/veteran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#veteran<\/a> and former <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/caregiver?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#caregiver<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FosterDelphine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@FosterDelphine<\/a> here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ktoRwc92fW\">https:\/\/t.co\/ktoRwc92fW<\/a><\/p>&mdash; DAV (Disabled American Veterans) (@DAVHQ) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DAVHQ\/status\/999350723459592193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 23, 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>Provisions for new community care rules and caregiver stipend expansion won&#8217;t happen overnight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":73581,"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":[]},"categories":[101,23,93,12,25,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3226],"class_list":["post-36780","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-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"R4I6RHX6DRHLXGEENROOAZPEFQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2018\/05\/23\/massive-veterans-policy-bill-heads-to-trumps-desk-but-results-will-take-time\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - 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