Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs, today announced that the Subcommittee has approved a Fiscal Year 2015 funding bill that includes her request for $35 million to extend the Access Received Closer to Home, or ARCH, program.
ARCH is a pilot program that provides VA-covered health care services through contractual arrangements with non-VA care providers. The program, which is set to expire later this year, improves access for eligible veterans-especially those in rural areas-by connecting them to health care services closer to home. Cary Medical Center in Caribou is one of five pilot sites that have been established across the country. The Togus VA Medical Center oversees treatment provided to veterans at Cary- allowing veterans in Aroostook County to receive quality care without traveling hundreds of miles roundtrip to Augusta.
"The ARCH program is a model for the nation with respect to improving access to health care among rural veterans. It allows veterans to receive quality care close to home and close to their families," said Senator Collins. "I have talked to many Maine veterans who praise this highly effective, indeed life-saving, program. In fact, one veteran from Northern Maine told me that he used this program for emergency surgery for a broken hip. Had the ARCH program not been in place, he would have had to endure a 500-mile roundtrip ambulance ride to Togus. The ride would have taken more than eight hours, over bumpy, winter roads, while he was in extreme pain. Often veterans and their families are forced to stay overnight and miss work as a result of the distance they are forced to travel to receive care."
"The ARCH program can't get any better," said Peter Miesburger, MSgt. Retired, U.S. Air Force and Past State Commander of the VFW in Maine. "Ever since the ARCH program was established as a pilot program for rural, Aroostook County, veterans have had nothing but positive remarks with regards to the medical care that they have received locally, without having to travel hundreds of miles to the Togus VA Health Care facility. In the winter, you leave your home in the dark and return home in the dark, or are forced to spend the night due to harsh winter conditions. The best thing about the ARCH program is the fact that my family was able to visit me while I was hospitalized. If I had to travel to Togus, there was no way my family could have visited me due to travel distance and time. If it were not for Senator Collins' efforts, this program would not continue. I commend her for her hard work on behalf of Maine veterans."
"Cary Medical Center is very grateful to our own, United States Senator, Susan Collins, for her tireless efforts in support of Project ARCH and protecting the healthcare of our nation's Veterans," said Kris Doody, RN, MSB, FACHE, Chief Executive Officer at Cary Medical Center. "It has been a privilege for Cary Medical Center to be part of the ARCH Project and to serve the men and women who were prepared to offer the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of freedom. Senator Collins' efforts to extend Project ARCH is a victory for all of America's Veterans living in rural, isolated parts of our country."
"Loss of the ARCH program would put a great burden on the veterans in Aroostook County who currently use the program," said John W. Wallace, President, Vietnam Veterans of America. "This would also do the same to the VA hospital in Togus, if these veterans all had to return there. That would cause long waiting times and in some cases require travel to Boston. We, the veterans in rural Aroostook County are happy and pleased with the local care we have been receiving under ARCH. Why does the VA want to do away with a program that works? Local care and local hospital works. We appreciate Senator Collins' hard work in preserving ARCH in Aroostook."
In addition, the Fiscal Year 2015 Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs funding bill also directs the VA to bolster its efforts to research the residual impact that the herbicide Agent Orange may have on veterans. Senator Collins has long been concerned with claims that Maine veterans have made to the VA contending they have suffered from health problems as a result of being exposed to Agent Orange during military training at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Gagetown. Collins and Sen. Angus King have introduced legislation that would direct the VA to establish a registry of U.S. veterans who have served or trained at CFB Gagetown and who have subsequently experienced health problems, which may be related to this chemical exposure. In addition, the Collins-King bill requires the VA to commission an independent study tasked with investigating the linkage between service at Gagetown and the development of health problems and disease associated with exposure to Agent Orange.
The Subcommittee also addressed widespread allegations of unacceptable wait times for patients accessing VA-provided care by including several provisions to make VA officials, including the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, accountable for the pervasive mismanagement that has undoubtedly harmed many Veterans and may have even contributed to some patient deaths. The Subcommittee also included $5 million over and above the President's request of $121.5 million, for the VA Inspector General (IG) investigate alleged mismanagement and fraud at VA hospitals around the country.
"Recent allegations, if true, are completely unacceptable, and I fully support strong and immediate measures to ensure that Veterans have unimpeded access to top-quality medical care," said Senator Collins.
Other provisions included in the bill to enhance accountability at the VA and reform its practices include:
• Directing the VA IG to conduct a nationwide, VISN by VISN audit of access to care;
• Prohibiting bonuses of certain VA officials until the VA IG has completed its audit and submitted its findings to Congress, and the recommendations have been implemented;
Additional Provisions
Other provisions important to Maine Veterans include:
• $30 million toward construction of a new, joint Army National Guard/Air National Guard headquarters in Augusta.
• $1.6 billion for targeted programs to prevent and reduce homelessness among Veterans. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Veteran homelessness has reduced by 24 percent since 2010, and the VA intends to eliminate Veterans homelessness by the end of 2015.
• Funding for programs to address the unique needs of today's veteran such as: $403 million for women veterans' health care, $278 million for traumatic brain injury and polytrauma medical care services, $588.9 million for the Medical and Prosthetic Research Program, and $7.2 billion for mental health services.
• A requirement for the Veterans Benefits Administration to report on the current standard of proof for a service-connected disability based on military sexual trauma. Senator Collins is a cosponsor of the Ruth Moore Act, which would make it easier for survivors of military sexual trauma to access VA-covered mental health services.
• $100 million for grants to help states construct or acquire nursing home and domiciliary facilities. There are six State Veterans Homes in Maine, and nationally, they have been shown to provide care to more than half of the VA's long-term care population at a cost equal to approximately 16 percent of the VA's long-term care budget.
• $46 million for grant to aid states in establishing or making improvements to Veterans cemeteries. The development of a state Veterans cemetery in Calais has been previously announced by the VA.
• $58.7 billion in advanced appropriations for FY 2016 medical services and facilities.
The bill will now go to the full Appropriations Committee for consideration on Thursday and must still be approved by the full Senate.
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