Congress passes bill for veterans and their caregivers

A wide-ranging, “landmark” bill for veterans and their caregivers passed Congress. The House approved the final version of the bicameral bill 382-12.

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, a Republican from Illinois, said in a news release that there was “no better way to close out the Congress.” If the bill didn’t pass, supporters would’ve had to restart the legislative process with the new Congress beginning next month.

The Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, Bost said, will modernize and improve the delivery of Veterans Affairs care and benefits.

“We worked hard to craft this legislation to put veterans – not government bureaucracy – at the core of it. The Dole Act will do that by expanding economic opportunities, simplifying the disability claims process, reforming services for aging veterans, opening more doors for mental health support, and a lot more,” Bost said.

Veterans’ advocacy groups applauded the passage of the bill.

Disabled American Veterans said the bill “will bring much needed relief to America’s veterans and their caregivers.” Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America’s CEO said lawmakers put aside their political divisions and “did right by America’s veterans and passed this important piece of legislation.”

The Elizabeth Dole Foundation, which pushed for the creation of the bill, said it includes more than 90 sections addressing such critical issues as long-term care, mental health resources, education, job training, VA modernization and more.

Elizabeth Dole Foundation CEO Steve Schwab said that the bill is “transformative.”

“This bill is going to save lives,” he said. “It’s a life-changing, life-saving bill.”

He said most of the bill is focused on the health care side of VA, though there are nonhealth elements such as workforce development and strengthening investments to combat veteran homelessness.

The Elizabeth Dole Foundation is focused on supporting the caregivers and support systems for veterans to ultimately improve the lives of veterans.

Schwab said this bill is Congress recognizing that caregivers must be integrated into veterans’ care. Veterans need support systems that are adequately supported themselves, he said.

“This bill, it’s going to create a sea change of new policies that support this generation of veteran families to receive their care and for their veterans to have choices for being at home,” Schwab said.

He offered a few examples.

Right now, a family who’s caring for a veteran at home can only receive reimbursement for up to 65% of their expenses, he said.

“So, there are thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of families across the country who are administering care in their home, and they’re going bankrupt,” Schwab said. “Because they can’t be reimbursed for having a trach at the house or feeding tubes or the medical equipment that they need.”

This bill will raise that expenditure cap to 100%, he said. And that can keep veterans out of nursing facilities and at home receiving care from their loved ones.

Schwab said VA currently has a pretty significant caregiver program.

He said the country has about 14 million military and veteran caregivers – spouses, parents, family members and friends of veterans.

This bill will consolidate dozens of caregiver benefits and give families an explanation from a VA staffer, a “warm handoff,” instead of a rejection letter if benefits are denied.

Schwab said the bill includes grants to support mental health care for veteran caregivers and would empower outside advocacy groups, such as his foundation, to advocate for veterans who are denied the VA health care they seek.

“Right now, that patient is left on their own to appeal a doctor’s decision or a clinical determination, or challenge whether or not they’d be eligible for a surgery,” he said.

The bill will create an assisted living pilot program, which will give veterans an option other than staying home with limited benefits or going to a VA nursing home.

“This is something that veterans have wanted for decades,” Schwab said.

And the bill will empower the doctor-patient relationship within VA, so that veterans won’t have to go through layers of approval if they and their doctor agree on a course of action at either a VA facility or outside the VA hospital system.

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