The vote today was 93-3. Senators now must iron out differences with competing House legislation, which doesn’t include money for the Department of Veterans Affairs to hire new doctors or nurses.
“I think we’ll get it done quick,” Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican who helped craft the measure, said in an interview about negotiations with the House. “There’s a certain urgency here.”
Veterans’ health care has become a top priority for lawmakers following reports that hospitals and clinics were hiding months-long waiting lists of veterans trying to see a doctor. An internal VA audit June 9 showed more than 120,000 veterans had not received a medical appointment or were currently waiting longer than 90 days for care.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Critical BenefitsPRO information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
- Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events
- Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
Already have an account? Sign In
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
