Earlier this year, a veteran contacted my office because her medical bills were piling up after she needed emergency care outside of the VA. No matter how hard she tried, the VA refused to pay her expenses because of a coverage loophole made worse by the department’s inability to efficiently schedule appointments.

The VA’s systematic failure to see new patients in a timely fashion is putting undue financial stress on veterans at an already difficult time. We must do better, which is why I’m leading the Removing Extraneous Loopholes Insuring Every Veteran Emergency (RELIEVE) Act. This bipartisan legislation would eliminate a glaring gap in veteran emergency care insurance coverage by expanding emergency coverage under Care in the Community for veterans during the first 60 days that they are enrolled in the VA. Once veterans see a VA provider to establish care, the coverage gap is permanently closed.

While this bill won’t fix everything, it’s an important first step towards ensuring veterans can access care when and where they need it most.  I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this done as soon as possible.

CLICK HERE to read the bill.