On the recordMay 9, 2011
today I am introducing the Veterans Health Equity Act of 2011. This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that every State has either a full-service veterans hospital or, in the alternative, that veterans in every State have access to comparable in-state hospital care and medical services. I am pleased that my colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Ayotte, has agreed to be an original cosponsor of this measure. New Hampshire is currently the only State that does not have either a full-service veterans medical center or a military hospital providing comparable services to veterans. While the staff of the Manchester VA Medical Center does an excellent job of caring for our State's veterans, this facility does not provide inpatient surgical care, emergency services or care in a number of critical specialties. This imposes a great burden on many New Hampshire veterans who are forced to travel out of state for a range of medical services. New Hampshire has over 130,000 veterans and this number continues to grow as our troops return from major deployments in the Middle East. It is unconscionable that our veterans must board shuttles to larger VA facilities in Massachusetts or Vermont to get the medical care they have been promised in exchange for their service.…
