Richard Burr

We are grateful to you for the job you do. Thank you for being here today.

As we continue to see a decrease in the number of backlogged claims, it appears we can also expect to see the number of appeals increase.

Would you provide that metrics for the Committee?

Should this Committee believe that there is any VSO in America that believes that the accuracy or the quality is at 97 percent right now?

So, in that short period of time before they self-identified the misinterpretation of the memorandum...

At what point does the length of an appeal become a concern to VA?

General, welcome to you and your team, and thank you for your testimony.

I recently received a letter from Kathleen Stephan of Fletcher, NC, who wrote to describe her experience with the Affordable Care Act and the impact on her health care. I wish to read her letter versus paraphrasing it. Dear Senator Burr: I…

If confirmed, do you pledge to ensure that individuals are held accountable if they are impeding the flow of information to this Committee?

As you can tell from the granularity of my questions, my level of trust is not real high right now.

I will need to hold another hearing after I receive the information, if I receive the information.

VA continues to struggle with the future of the integrated electronic health records and modernization of VistA.

Considering the impact that all of these issues and other problems at VA can have on veterans, their families, and their survivors, it must be a priority for VA's entire leadership team to get it under control.

Where we are in terms of timeliness is not acceptable.

It is frustrating to the Committee that we seem to always be in crisis management mode.

I think there is some visionary work that is happening inside VA.

Hundreds of thousands of veterans and their families are waiting in a backlog of disability claims.

I am sure all of these were included in the Manhattan Institute report when they completed an analysis of 49 States and found that, on average, premiums in the individual market increased by 41 percent under Obamacare.

I think it is actually hugely disappointing that, in fact, premiums have now gone up so far.

In my State of North Carolina, the Manhattan Institute estimates that the average increase was 136 percent under the Affordable Care Act.

Let me just suggest that the reason Congress has covered this so thoroughly is that this could be a hell of a lot easier.

It's not individual Americans who get to choose what they want, who get to choose how much exposure or how much benefit.

I don't know that your statements are accurate.

But one of the requirements is end-to-end testing.

Is it true that individuals who enrolled in healthcare plans after March 23, 2010, are not eligible for grandfathered plans?