American Legion National Commander Applauds Senate for Clarifying ‘40-mile Rule’
March 27, 2015
American Legion National Commander Applauds Senate for Clarifying ‘40-mile Rule’
The head of The American Legion praised the Senate for unanimously passing an amendment to remind the Department of Veterans Affairs that it is obligated to provide non-VA care when it cannot offer that same treatment at one of its own facilities within 40-miles driving distance from a veteran’s home.
“This bill simply calls on VA to do what it already had the authority to do,” said National Commander Michael D. Helm. “Intent is everything. When Congress passed the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act last year, it once again gave VA this authority. I say ‘once again’ because VA had this authority on a fee-basis long before the Choice act. Despite this authority, VA was trying to find loopholes by denying people who were near VA clinics that did not offer the needed services the right to use an alternative provider. We applaud Sen. Jerry Moran for writing this amendment, even though it’s a shame that such a common sense measure needs to be spelled out repeatedly for VA. We call on the House to pass this measure quickly and send an unmistakable message to VA.”
Moran emphasized the importance of providing non-VA health care to veterans during Helm’s congressional testimony on Feb. 25. The Kansas senator calculated the distance from Helm’s home in Norcatur, Kan., to the nearest VA facilities.
“It’s 267 miles to Denver,” Moran said. “It’s 287 miles to Wichita. It’s 287 miles to Omaha and the nearest CBOC (Community Based Outpatient Center) is 100 miles away. I appreciate the perspective that this commander will bring about caring for all veterans regardless of where they live in the United States.”
With a current membership of 2.3-million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through nearly 14,000 posts across the nation.
