Both New Hampshire senators said Friday that they introduced a bill to make the Choice Card permanent in states with no full-service Veterans Affairs hospital in response to the president’s plan to cut from the program.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, and Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, introduced a bill to “protect the Choice Card program” for New Hampshire veterans. While the program is now authorized either until 2017 or until the allotted $10 billion runs out, the bill would make it a permanent option for veterans who live in states with no full-service VA hospital, such as New Hampshire.
“We are disappointed that the administration is attempting to cut funding from a program that was enacted with overwhelming bipartisan support and that has not yet been properly implemented,” the senators wrote in a bipartisan letter asking the president to leave the program intact.
The president’s fiscal 2016 budget request said he planned to ask for the authority to move some of the funding to other parts of the department. VA officials said early numbers suggest few veterans are using the program and, as such, that funding may be needed to treat those who continue to receive care at the VA.
Congress created the Choice Card last year in response to allegations that veterans were dying on secret lists while waiting too long for care. The card is supposed to let veterans receive private care if they wait too long for an appointment or live more than 40 miles from a VA facility, though the senators said they receive daily complaints veterans in their state who have faced bureaucratic hurdles using the card as intended.
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
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