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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 look at the critical steps Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Collins and the Trump administration have taken to improve the Civilian Health and Medical Program (CHAMPVA) at VA for veteran beneficiaries. The subcommittee will also examine opportunities to improve the program’s accessibility of health care services for family members of disabled or deceased veterans – efforts that are in lockstep with the Committee’s broader mission to increase affordability nationwide for veteran families.

Good afternoon.

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

The chair may declare a recess at any point.

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

Many here today have likely heard that V.A. has taken significant steps to improve the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs—or CHAMPVA.

CHAMPVA is a program to provide earned benefits for veterans’ families whenever the veteran has qualifying service-connected disabilities or death.

A veterans’ spouse or child can access a range of covered health care services through CHAMPVA: inpatient and outpatient care, prescription drugs, mental health services, skilled nursing care, and more.

CHAMPVA is a way we honor our commitment to serving the veterans and their families who were injured in the line of duty.

Sometimes, circumstances require that family members forgo a full-time job with health insurance benefits so that they can care for their veteran full time instead. These caregivers consider CHAMPVA a lifeline.

Decades ago, Congress created CHAMPVA to close a gap left by TRICARE.

CHAMPVA—when it works—is a huge relief for veterans and their families. Affordability is on everyone’s mind, and that is especially true for veteran families with serious medical needs.

Fortunately, V.A. has recently taken steps to ensure CHAMPVA works.

I am pleased that the Trump administration is pulling out all the stops to bring down the cost of living by putting families first.

Just before Thanksgiving, Secretary Collins announced the elimination of the CHAMPVA application backlog. That’s over 60,000 more families who can now access caregiver healthcare benefits at V.A.

The Subcommittee appreciates V.A.’s work to modernize CHAMPVA. Online applications and claims should have been available a long time ago. But if we continue to hold V.A. accountable, veterans and families will see results.

As a case in point, I am particularly pleased to share that V.A. is in the process of developing a CHAMPVA provider directory.

This is after an abundance of feedback from members of Congress to V.A. about the difficulty that beneficiaries have even finding someone who will accept CHAMPVA.

The Committee has been diligent in exploring solutions for a provider directory.

I want to thank my friend, Oversight Subcommittee Chairwoman Jen Kiggans, for her leadership on this issue, as she recently wrote a letter and introduced legislation to create this system for veterans and their families. Needless to say, we will exercise continued oversight to ensure the CHAMPVA directory is fully implemented.

Modernization like this, and V.A.’s ongoing efforts, enhances the convenience of using the CHAMPVA program. And now, V.A. can process applications and claims faster than ever. I am encouraged that V.A. is now aiming to process 100% of electronic claims within 30 days. It should be noted that back in May, their stretch goal was to process 90% of electronic claims in that time.

However, there are still obstacles and opportunities for this program. Navigating V.A. bureaucracy is never easy. I have heard that certain obstacles remain in CHAMPVA, and I expect our witnesses to highlight these issues today.

Foremost, this subcommittee will do its part so that V.A. can process 100% of all claims within 30 days—not only the electronic ones. Paper claims still take too long to process.

I know delays are inherent, and manual processing is tedious, but I look forward to working with V.A. to speed up paper processing.

Second, there is limited transparency for status updates on applications or claims requests.

Spouses and children want to know what’s going on with their application. Caregivers and providers want to know whether their claims will be accepted or denied.

Whenever they hear radio silence from V.A., they lose trust in V.A.

The Subcommittee spoke with one large health care provider who shared that V.A. assigned a direct representative to help address their claims questions. But the direct representative was too overwhelmed to ever timely resolve the provider’s questions—the provider would have to wait months.

Speaking as a veteran and a provider, I want to ensure this provider’s experience is a thing of the past.

There must be a better way to get information for families and providers so they know exactly what their benefits are ahead of time.

Third, V.A. could resolve claims faster if it improved its ability to cross reference a spouse or child’s health insurance and whether that person reached his or her deductible.

Because CHAMPVA can function as either a primary or secondary payer, providers must properly bill either the program or someone’s Other Health Insurance first. Unfortunately, this coordination frequently breaks down, and providers lose time filing the claim only for V.A. to require a different form.

It is also important to know in real time whether a spouse or child has reached the deductible. Right now, real-time knowledge is unavailable to claim processors. I would like to see that change.

Lastly, some aspects of the CHAMPVA process create snags for caregivers that limit the program’s use. The subcommittee has heard most about the fact that CHAMPVA identification cards are not in fact cards – they are strips of paper.

Mrs. Benson so clearly explained the issue when she showed this Subcommittee her own “card.” She explained that if anything happens to the strip—like if someone accidentally spills a drink—the caregiver must wait for another strip of paper from V.A.

Caregivers should not have to ask their neighbor for a laminator to avoid damage or destruction to their healthcare paperwork.

I hope this discussion sheds light on these concerns and opens the door to further discussions on how we can continue to modernize CHAMPVA.

Just like every other American family, veteran families with caregiving responsibilities set aside this time of year to give thanks to God, celebrate one another, and enjoy tradition.

But caregivers must also balance the healthcare demands to ensure they and their loved ones in need enjoy the season to the fullest.

Our goal with this hearing is to make sure CHAMPVA works as intended to serve veterans’ families.

Finally, I would like to thank beneficiaries like Mrs. Benson and many others from groups like the Senator Elizabeth Dole Foundation for sharing their stories and bringing CHAMPVA issues to us.

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