{"id":21876,"date":"2024-02-07T15:33:13","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T20:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=21876"},"modified":"2024-02-07T15:33:58","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T20:33:58","slug":"sens-ossoff-collins-thune-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-help-veterans-in-rural-areas-access-va-health-care","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/sens-ossoff-collins-thune-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-help-veterans-in-rural-areas-access-va-health-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Sens. Ossoff, Collins, Thune Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Help Veterans in Rural Areas Access VA Health Care"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bipartisan bill would help expand transportation options for veterans living in rural areas to get to Veterans Affairs (VA) health facilities<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bipartisan bill is backed by Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), American Legion, & Disabled American Veterans (DAV)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C. <\/strong>\u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is introducing a bipartisan bill to help veterans in rural Georgia get to the VA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Sens. Ossoff, Susan Collins (R-ME), and John Thune (R-SD) introduced the Rural Veterans Transportation to Care Act <\/em>to help more veterans in rural areas get transportation to VA health facilities and access the health care benefits they\u2019ve earned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sens. Ossoff, Collins, and Thune\u2019s bipartisan bill would expand eligibility to the VA\u2019s Highly Rural Transportation Grant Program (HRTG), which provides grant funding for Veteran Service Organizations and State Veterans Service Agencies to provide veterans transportation in eligible counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VA\u2019s Highly Rural Transportation Grant Program is currently only available to counties with fewer than 7 people per square mile. The bipartisan bill would expand the VA\u2019s definition to ensure more counties are eligible for the grant program, helping more veterans living in rural areas get transportation to the VA or VA-authorized health care facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill would also increase the maximum amount of funding grant recipients are eligible for from $50,000 to $60,000, or up to $80,000 for grantees to purchase an ADA compliant vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs I’ve sat down with veterans in rural areas across Georgia, one of their key concerns is lack of transportation,\u201d Sen. Ossoff said.<\/strong> \u201cThat\u2019s why I’m introducing this bipartisan bill to ensure veterans have more access to transportation services that can bring them to VA clinics and medical centers to get the care they need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Maine \u2013 a large, rural state with one of the highest number of veterans per capita \u2013 only veterans living in Piscataquis County are eligible for this important grant program that provides transportation to VA and VA-authorized healthcare facilities,\u201d said Senator Collins. <\/strong>\u201cBy expanding program eligibility to include more highly rural areas, this bipartisan bill would allow veterans in additional Maine counties to gain access to these transportation services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTraveling to and from VA facilities is oftentimes an overlooked obstacle that veterans in rural communities, like those in South Dakota, face,\u201d said Thune.<\/strong> \u201cThis legislation would provide South Dakota veterans with much-needed transportation services that would allow them to safely and efficiently utilize services at VA facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bipartisan bill is backed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans (DAV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur nation\u2019s 2.4-million veterans living in rural areas face difficulties accessing VA health care that those living in urban and suburban areas do not. Chief among them is transportation to the department\u2019s nationwide medical facilities,\u201d said Nancy Espinosa, DAV National Commander.<\/strong> \u201cThe nearly 300,000 veterans living in areas considered highly rural face even greater obstacles and deserve increased attention to assistance in accessing VA\u2019s high-quality health care. DAV is proud to support the Rural Veterans Transportation to Care Act<\/em> as it would help the VA provide all rural veterans better access to treatment. We applaud Sen. Ossoff\u2019s leadership in introducing this important legislation that will help ensure our nation keeps its promises to America\u2019s veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the VA, roughly 3 in 10 veterans<\/a> in Georgia live in rural areas, and there are roughly 2.8 million veterans in rural areas across the country who are enrolled in and rely on the VA\u2019s health care system.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff continues working to improve the health of Georgia veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two weeks ago, thanks to Sen Ossoff\u2019s bipartisan Access for Veterans to Records Act<\/em><\/a>, the National Archives cleared a backlog<\/a> of more than 400,000 records requests, enabling Georgia veterans to more quickly access their records and claim their benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, Sens. Ossoff and Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced the bipartisan SCHEDULES Act<\/em><\/a> which would require the VA to establish a time standard between medical referrals and appointment times at VA hospitals and community care centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October, Sen. Ossoff also launched an inquiry<\/a> with the VA into excessive delays with the VA Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA), which decides whether or not veterans are entitled to claimed veterans\u2019 benefits and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> to read the bipartisan Rural Veterans Transportation to Care Act.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # #<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bipartisan bill would help expand transportation options for veterans living in rural areas to get to Veterans Affairs (VA) health facilities Bipartisan bill is backed by Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), American Legion, & Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Washington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is introducing a bipartisan bill to help veterans in rural Georgia get to […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21876","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/21876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/21876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21878,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/21876\/revisions\/21878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}