Washington, D.C. - The Senate Appropriations Committee today approved the Fiscal Year 2015 Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs funding bill which includes Senator Susan Collins' request for $35 million to extend the Access Received Closer to Home, or ARCH, program.
ARCH is a pilot program that provides VA-covered health care services through contractual arrangements with non-VA care providers. The program, which is set to expire later this year, improves access for eligible veterans-especially those in rural areas-by connecting them to health care services closer to home. Cary Medical Center in Caribou is one of five pilot sites that have been established across the country. The Togus VA Medical Center oversees treatment provided to veterans at Cary- allowing veterans in Aroostook County to receive quality care without traveling hundreds of miles roundtrip to Augusta.
"The ARCH program is a model for the nation with respect to improving access to health care among rural veterans. It allows veterans to receive quality care close to home and close to their families," said Senator Collins, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "I have talked to many Maine veterans who praise this highly effective, indeed life-saving, program. In fact, one veteran from Northern Maine told me that he used this program for emergency surgery for a broken hip. Had the ARCH program not been in place, he would have had to endure a 500-mile roundtrip ambulance ride to Togus. The ride would have taken more than eight hours, over bumpy, winter roads, while he was in extreme pain. Often veterans and their families are forced to stay overnight and miss work as a result of the distance they are forced to travel to receive care."
"The ARCH program can't get any better," said Peter Miesburger, MSgt. Retired, U.S. Air Force and Past State Commander of the VFW in Maine. "Ever since the ARCH program was established as a pilot program for rural, Aroostook County, veterans have had nothing but positive remarks with regards to the medical care that they have received locally, without having to travel hundreds of miles to the Togus VA Health Care facility. In the winter, you leave your home in the dark and return home in the dark, or are forced to spend the night due to harsh winter conditions. The best thing about the ARCH program is the fact that my family was able to visit me while I was hospitalized. If I had to travel to Togus, there was no way my family could have visited me due to travel distance and time. If it were not for Senator Collins' efforts, this program would not continue. I commend her for her hard work on behalf of Maine veterans."
"Cary Medical Center is very grateful to our own, United States Senator, Susan Collins, for her tireless efforts in support of Project ARCH and protecting the healthcare of our nation's Veterans," said Kris Doody, RN, MSB, FACHE, Chief Executive Officer at Cary Medical Center. "It has been a privilege for Cary Medical Center to be part of the ARCH Project and to serve the men and women who were prepared to offer the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of freedom. Senator Collins' efforts to extend Project ARCH is a victory for all of America's Veterans living in rural, isolated parts of our country."
"Loss of the ARCH program would put a great burden on the veterans in Aroostook County who currently use the program," said John W. Wallace, President, Vietnam Veterans of America. "This would also do the same to the VA hospital in Togus, if these veterans all had to return there. That would cause long waiting times and in some cases require travel to Boston. We, the veterans in rural Aroostook County are happy and pleased with the local care we have been receiving under ARCH. Why does the VA want to do away with a program that works? Local care and local hospital works. We appreciate Senator Collins' hard work in preserving ARCH in Aroostook."
In addition, the Fiscal Year 2015 Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs funding bill also directs the VA to bolster its efforts to research the residual impact that the herbicide Agent Orange may have on veterans. It includes language, authored by Senators Collins and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), that "urges the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to explore the feasibility of establishing a registry of U.S. veterans who served or trained outside of Vietnam and have subsequently experienced health issues, which may have resulted from exposure to these chemicals, and directs the Secretary to provide a report to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress no later than 180 days after enactment of this act detailing any plans the Department may be considering on establishing a policy regarding presumed exposure for these veterans."
Senator Collins has long been concerned with claims that Maine veterans have made to the VA contending they have suffered from health problems as a result of being exposed to Agent Orange during military training at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Gagetown. Collins and Sen. Angus King have introduced legislation that would direct the VA to establish a registry of U.S. veterans who have served or trained at CFB Gagetown and who have subsequently experienced health problems, which may be related to this chemical exposure. In addition, the Collins-King bill requires the VA to commission an independent study tasked with investigating the linkage between service at Gagetown and the development of health problems and disease associated with exposure to Agent Orange.
This funding bill also addresses widespread allegations of unacceptable wait times for patients accessing VA-provided care by including several provisions to make VA officials, including the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, accountable for the pervasive mismanagement that has undoubtedly harmed many Veterans and may have even contributed to some patient deaths. The bill includes $5 million over and above the President's request of $121.5 million, for the VA Inspector General (IG) investigate alleged mismanagement and fraud at VA hospitals around the country.
"Recent allegations, if true, are completely unacceptable, and I fully support strong and immediate measures to ensure that Veterans have unimpeded access to top-quality medical care," said Senator Collins.
Other provisions included in the bill to enhance accountability at the VA and reform its practices include:
Additional Provisions
Other provisions important to Maine Veterans include:
The bill must now be approved by the full Senate.
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NEW audio from today's full Appropriations Committee hearing can be found here: http://youtu.be/fqphVNT5kxI