Gus Bilirakis: “While the Veterans Choice Program is by no means perfect--the chairman said this, as well as the ranking member--many of…”

“While the Veterans Choice Program is by no means perfect--the chairman said this, as well as the ranking member--many of our men and women who wore our Nation's uniform rely on it for increased access to quality health care. I strongly support S. 544 because veterans should have certainty that their care will continue, and I am optimistic that our efforts to reform and build upon the Choice Program will yield positive results going forward. The intentions and goals of the Choice Program are good, giving our true American heroes more choices and more focused care; but, clearly, some areas of the program need improvement. I hear that from my veterans. We have already taken some solid steps to make the program work better for veterans, but not enough. We will have the opportunity to fix this in a bipartisan fashion; for example, one positive step: The eligibility rules initially stated that a veteran had to live 40 miles as the crow flies from the nearest VA facility. We changed it to 40 miles driving distance. That is just common sense; isn't it? I think it is. We have also made reforms to increase the number of non-VA providers who are allowed to participate in the program and expand eligibility to all enrolled veterans. There is much work to be done, there is no question. The only way we can continue improving the Veterans Choice Program and ensure that veterans see no interruption to their health care is to eliminate the sunset date. Mr.…”