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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 Committee’s oversight hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) role in managing state veterans’ homes and to discuss how Congress can reform them to better serve aging veterans’ healthcare needs.

This oversight hearing of the Subcommittee on Health will now come to order.

I would like to welcome all the members and witnesses to today’s hearing.

We look forward to a very productive discussion about care for aging veterans.

Every veteran deserves independence and dignity with age.

With age come different challenges.

The baby boomer generation is getting to an age where long-term care is increasingly needed.

More and more veterans are entering a period in life when they are physically and mentally vulnerable.

The demands on V.A. for long-term care will only grow due to the incoming veterans who served during the Vietnam and Cold War eras.

For some, they have trouble advocating for themselves because their health needs can undermine their independence.

This subcommittee works every day to make sure V.A. healthcare meets veterans where they are.

We know older veterans experience social isolation. Chronic pain. Mental health challenges.

V.A. healthcare must meet our aging veterans’ needs. Recent incidents show that there is work to be done.

I am particularly troubled by veteran suicide later in life.

Just two weeks ago, a 77-year-old veteran tragically committed suicide at a V.A. medical campus.

Sadly, very little research exists about why veterans end their lives at a time when they should be enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Through this subcommittee’s oversight trips, we have heard that older veterans who commit suicide are an invisible population.

As a 24-year Army veteran and physician, I refuse to let this issue live in the shadows.

Healthcare programs through V.A. are a major contact point where V.A. can interact with older veterans.

Uniquely, state veterans homes deal with this population almost exclusively.

They are a key means by which we can support older veterans on a daily basis.

State veterans homes are long-term care facilities for veterans.

They are state-run but receive substantial amounts of funding from V.A.

When V.A. supports state veterans homes, it is also supporting a compilation of smaller programs.

V.A. gives funds for state veterans homes to support programs like resident care, domiciliary care, and adult day health care.

In addition, V.A. provides grants for facility construction through a matching program with states.

V.A. also provides grants for nursing retention at state veterans homes.

These programs help veterans flourish later in life.

But are we sure that V.A. is helping state veterans homes meet their full potential?

This oversight hearing is meant to answer this question.

I know that most homes throughout the country give the quality of care that veterans-in-need deserve.

But there are notable outliers.

In 2020, at a state veterans’ home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, over 70 veterans died with COVID-19 during an outbreak during the pandemic. Many more suffered infections.

An independent investigation revealed that this horrific tragedy was preventable.

Additionally, G.A.O. reported that the total number of demerits for failing requirements in the annual V.A. audit increased from 2019 to 2021.

The only good news is that these are exceptions rather than the rule.

What can we do to make sure all homes offer the standard of care veterans deserve?

I believe V.A. can help state veterans homes succeed.

We know V.A. has money. We give it to them every year.

Again, V.A. disburses a substantial amount of funding to support state veterans homes through reimbursements and grants.

We must make sure V.A. allocates these funds to the right resources.

That’s why I introduced a bill to provide veterans with more access to essential medications.

My bill would reimburse state veterans homes for medication costs.

Currently, V.A. does not pay state veterans homes for high-cost medications for severely disabled veterans.

Yet they are often revolutionary cancer drugs that can help significantly lengthen veterans’ lives and quality of life.

These medications are covered outside the facility rather than through the state veterans home.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—it is critical to expand the network veterans can use to access life-saving medication.

I also know that construction grants come with strings attached that may not make sense for the veteran or the state veterans homes supporting them.

I look forward to discussing this and more with the witnesses before us today.

Older veterans deserve quality long-term care. We owe it to them to put them at the forefront of our conversation about veteran healthcare.

I now yield to Ranking Member Brownley for any opening remarks she may have.