Press Releases

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 with health industry experts to discuss how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and doctors within VA’s Community Care program work together to provide efficient, lifesaving, quality specialty care to veterans.

Good afternoon.

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.

During this hearing, witnesses will share with us how V.A. works hand in hand with private doctors to meet veterans’ specialty care needs through the V.A. Community Care Program.

Data shows that veterans like and want Community Care.

Polling has shown that Americans want veterans to be able to access shorter wait times and drive times to get their health care.

Through the MISSION Act, Congress closed the gap that was crippling the delivery of care by V.A. and oftentimes leaving veterans behind, stuck in line, and waiting for an appointment. This was especially true for specialty care.

By virtue of being in the community, these providers are closer to veterans and their homes than a brick-and-mortar V.A. facility.

That means shorter wait times and drive times for veterans.

Through the MISSION Act, the V.A. Community Care Program created new opportunities for more resources than ever to serve veterans.

Veterans enjoy shorter wait times and drive times for specialty care appointments because V.A. is allowed to cover specialty care in the community.

Veterans have more specialty care through V.A. because of Community Care—not less.

Three key indicators today and on the horizon show that V.A. will continue to rely on providers in the community to meet the moment for specialty care for veterans.

First, demand will increase for all specialty care needs as more women use V.A. for healthcare.

By 2040, V.A. estimates women will make up 18% of all veterans.

More women veterans means not just an increase in female-specific care, but an increase in specialty care services overall.

Second, V.A.’s workforce challenges mirror those of the health care industry.

There is a national shortage of health care professionals, especially for physicians and nurses.

V.A. recently identified shortages for clinical roles like psychologists, medical technologists, diagnostic radiologic technologists, among others across all V.A. facilities.

All of these roles play a part in, if not directly, provide specialty care to veterans.

The higher the ratio between veterans and healthcare staff, the more veterans will need community providers for V.A.-covered specialty care.

Third and finally, V.A. expects significant changes in demand for care in general—including specialty care.

V.A. projects major shifts in physical space demands for hospital operations by around 2030.

Estimates range from an 850,000 decrease in needed square feet in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a 2,500,000 increase in needed square feet in Orlando, Florida.

These are but two of many estimates projecting dramatic increases and decreases in demand for physical space across the country.

V.A. also projects highly variable demand in different facilities across different types of care.

I hope you’ll bear with me as I explain the numbers, which paint a compelling picture of veterans’ healthcare needs.

V.A. expects a fifty percent growth nationwide in outpatient primary and specialty care combined.

Relatedly, V.A. also expects a thirteen percent decrease in inpatient acute medicine and surgery nationwide.

But V.A. expects an increase for inpatient acute mental health. That means more demand for psychiatric services at a hospital for severe mental health crises.

That is a lot of variation.

Even within these numbers, V.A. expects significant differences in demand from region to region.

For example, with inpatient acute mental health care, V.A. projects a six percent decrease nationally in demand for inpatient acute mental health.

But when we dig another layer deeper, we see that V.A. expects anywhere between a nineteen percent decrease to a fourteen percent increase across different regions in the country.

I care deeply about mental health resources for veterans. I know V.A. will continue to provide valuable in-house care to veterans who need it.

But with so many variables, V.A. cannot expect in-house care alone to meet different demands from different communities.

Veterans need inpatient mental health care when they need it.

Veterans need specialty care when they need it.

A condition in need of treatment does not wait for facility infrastructure to catch up. As a physician, I know this reality firsthand.

And a veteran should not wait for treatment when community providers are already available to meet a need.

To best serve veterans, V.A. should pursue whatever gets quality care to veterans when they need it. 

V.A. serves all veterans when it opens the door to community providers equipped to care for veterans at the right time, at the right place, with the right treatment.

As a 24-year Army veteran and physician, I’m focused on working in lockstep with the Trump administration to ensure that happens. The future of veterans’ healthcare depends on it.

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