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Today, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared, at the start of the subcommittee’s oversight hearing to discuss the roles and responsibilities of different parties in administering the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Care Program to protect healthcare access for veterans across the country. During the Biden administration the Committee received many reports from veterans regarding delayed VA Community Care referrals, canceled appointments, and long wait times for treatments that should have been available much sooner.

Good afternoon. This oversight hearing for the Subcommittee on Health will now come to order.

I understand this hearing focused on community care has garnered significant member interest, including from Committee members who are not on my Health Subcommittee.

So, before we get started, in accordance with Committee Rule 5(e), I ask Unanimous Consent that all off-subcommittee members be permitted to participate in today’s Committee hearing.

Without objection, so ordered.

As a 24-year Army veteran and a healthcare provider, I have seen firsthand the struggles veterans face in accessing the care they have earned. I have also experienced the challenges providers encounter when trying to deliver that care.

Let me make two things perfectly clear at the start of today’s hearing:

1. Veterans should never have to fight through a maze of bureaucracy to get the healthcare they deserve, and
2. Providers should not be bogged down by administrative hurdles just to serve them.

Those two statements should never be considered partisan, period.

This Subcommittee has received multiple reports regarding delayed referrals, canceled appointments, and long wait times for treatments that should have been available much sooner.

These aren’t isolated incidents. These are systemic failures that have real, harmful impacts on the everyday lives of veterans.

That’s why today’s hearing is so important. Today is a follow-up to our previous full committee hearing, where we heard directly from veterans and their families about the barriers they experienced in accessing community care.

But with a new administration comes new opportunities, and under the leadership of Secretary Collins, I have total confidence V.A. will course-correct the failures of the previous administration to protect healthcare access for veterans.

In our last hearing, we saw attempts by some misguided members to shift the failures of the Biden-Harris administration to third-party administrators and providers. There was also yet another attempt to propagate the myth that Republicans want to privatize V.A.

Let me once again address this falsehood and state the position I share with Chairman Bost:

Community Care is — V.A. care.

It is designed to supplement V.A.’s direct care system — not replace it.

The purpose of today’s hearing is to provide a refresher on the roles and responsibilities of the outside providers who are responsible for administering the Community Care Program so that all members of the Committee can refocus efforts on holding the right people accountable.

This is about making sure the Community Care Program works for veterans – not for bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.

So, let me spell out who is responsible for what. Third-party administrators are tasked with building provider networks and paying claims for services rendered by community care providers.

Third-party administrators DO NOT determine veterans’ eligibility for community care.

They DO NOT authorize referrals.

And they DO NOT manage the transfer of medical records between V.A. facilities and community providers.

Those responsibilities belong to V.A.

When V.A. fails to authorize referrals in a timely manner or delays sending the necessary documentation, veterans are the ones who suffer.

We have heard countless stories from veterans who’ve waited months for care because their referrals were stuck in the system. Veterans who have had to navigate confusing and inconsistent communication because V.A. – not the outside providers – cannot get their act together.

One of those veterans is my constituent, Mr. Terry Barngrover, a Vietnam veteran battling blood cancer.

I would like to take a moment to describe Terry’s community care experience in his own words:

“They just expect us to know all the rules. No one answers the phone or returns calls. We get the feeling the V.A. does all this extra work so we will give up and not use the V.A. at all.”

We can’t allow these issues to persist. Veterans like Terry – and the veterans we all heard from a few weeks ago in this room – deserve better.

They deserve a system that works for them, not against them. That is my number one priority from my seat as Chairwoman.

Today, we will hear from V.A. officials and stakeholders about the steps they are taking to improve the administration of Community Care and ensure that the program operates efficiently and effectively, so veterans can get the care they need without unnecessary delays.

Thank you all for being here today. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on how we can improve the V.A. Community Care Program for the veterans who rely on it.

With that, I yield to Ranking Member Brownley for her opening statement.