Kelly Ayotte: “last year in this body, we heard and saw evidence about what was happening at some of our VA facilities--the manipulated…”

“last year in this body, we heard and saw evidence about what was happening at some of our VA facilities--the manipulated wait lists, the delays our veterans had to endure--and, unfortunately, some of our veterans died waiting for care. We passed a bipartisan bill, one on which we all worked together, and I appreciate that Senator Sanders worked very hard on that bill. The Veterans Choice Program was part of that bipartisan bill, but this program has yet to be implemented in the way this body intended. The goal was to expedite care for veterans who had been waiting longer than 30 days or who live farther than 40 miles away from the VA hospital. In my home State of New Hampshire, we don't have a full-service veterans hospital, so too often our veterans are driving long distances--to Massachusetts or to other locations--to get the care they earned for having served and sacrificed so much for our country. Recently, a study conducted by the VFW found that 92 percent of program-eligible veterans were interested in non-VA or private care options that they could go to. Yet that same survey found that 80 percent of eligible veterans were unable to access the Veterans Choice Program. Barely 2 months after the program started--and we worked on it on a bipartisan basis in this Congress--the administration announced plans to divert money from this important program by saying it was underutilized. Let's be clear.…”