VETS Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and ranking member for their support and their kind words.

Mr. Speaker, I do rise today in support of H.R. 2123, the Veterans E- Health and Telemedicine Support Act, also known as the VETS Act.

Years ago, a constituent approached me to discuss the barriers to care that his fellow veterans were experiencing through the VA system. As an Active-Duty soldier, he told me stories of his friends coming home from deployment and falling through the cracks of the system. Some were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, TBIs, and depression and required the care of specialists. Others had difficulty traveling from their rural communities to VA medical centers because of injuries sustained during combat. Too many of those wound up taking their own lives.

It broke my heart to hear the stories of this soldier's friends and comrades not receiving the care that they deserve. What made it more difficult was the fact that this constituent soldier was my son.

After numerous conversations trying to figure out how we can help our servicemembers when they return home, we determined that expanding access to telehealth would be a great start. Many of our veterans live in rural areas and are unable to travel far distances. Allowing them to see their healthcare provider in the comfort of their home would increase their access to care. This is why Representative Julia Brownley and I introduced the VETS Act.

The VETS Act will allow VA-employed healthcare providers to practice telehealth across State lines, no matter where the doctor or the patient is located. It also commissions a report to study the effectiveness of telemedicine programs utilized by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

While the VA has made major strides and is a leader in advancing telehealth access, outdated barriers limit its

growth. Currently, each State has its own licensing requirements for healthcare providers to practice medicine within its borders. For example, if a doctor practices in Pennsylvania and Ohio, they must hold a license from each State.

VA-provider licensing requirements are different. As long as a doctor is licensed and in good standing with a single State, they can practice in-person care within the VA system in any State. This reciprocity, however, is not afforded to the practice of telehealth. VA providers seeking to provide telehealthcare to patients must also be licensed in the State where the patient is located. These outdated regulations are hurting our Nation's veterans.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has successfully been using telemedicine for quite some time. Since 2002, more than 2 million veterans have received telehealthcare through the VA. In 2016 alone, more than 12 percent of veterans receiving VA care utilized telehealth in some aspect. Forty-five percent of these veterans live in rural areas.

Veterans who have accessed telehealth are overwhelmingly pleased with the quality of care and access they received. Those receiving at-home care, for example, through telehealth cite an 88 percent satisfaction rate.

While the VA has done a great job of expanding telehealth access to veterans across the country, more needs to be done. Our veterans deserve the best care available to them, and this starts with the passage of the VETS Act.

I thank Representative Brownley, Committee Chairman Dr. Phil Roe, Ranking Member Tim Walz, and Chairman Bilirakis for bringing this bill to the floor today.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the bill to give our Nation's veterans access to quality, proven healthcare.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2123) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the ability of health care professionals to treat veterans through the use of telemedicine, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2123.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2123, the Veterans E- Health and Telemedicine Support Act of 2017.

I believe that telemedicine represents the future of healthcare delivery, and I am proud of the fact that the Department of Veterans Affairs is a longtime leader in telemedicine.

Through VA's many different telehealth modalities, VA doctors and nurses have been able to better serve veterans in remote, rural, or medically underserved areas and veterans with limited mobility or other issues that make it difficult to travel to and from the VA medical facilities for needed appointments and follow-up care. Importantly, veterans who have had experience accessing care through telemedicine have demonstrated improved healthcare outcomes, including decreases in hospital admissions.

It is my hope that all veterans would have access to VA telemedicine when and where appropriate. However, the continued expansion of telemedicine across the VA healthcare system has been constrained by restrictions on the ability of VA providers to practice telemedicine across State lines without jeopardizing their State medical license.

H.R. 2123, the Veterans E-Health and Telemedicine Support Act of 2017, would remove those constraints by authorizing the VA providers to practice telemedicine at a location in any State, regardless of where the provider or patient is located. This would provide VA clinicians the statutory protection they need to continue providing high-quality telehealthcare to veteran patients across the country without fear of penalties imposed by the State medical licensing boards.

I am grateful to my friend and colleague, Representative Glenn Thompson from the great State of Pennsylvania, for his leadership on this issue and for bringing this important bill forward.

I am also grateful to my fellow committee member, Representative Julia Brownley of California, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health, for her work and advocacy on VA telemedicine.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2123, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), who is the sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Coffman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from the great State of Michigan (Mr. Bergman).

Mr. Speaker, this puts the veterans first, as the gentleman said; and, again, the veteran has a choice as to whether to use telemedicine or go to see the doctor, because it doesn't work for everyone.

But, in any case, this is a great bill. It puts the veteran first. I urge my colleagues to pass this particular bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2123, the Veterans E-Health and Telemedicine Support Act, or VETS Act.

As we approach Veterans Day, a time when we honor the service and sacrifice of those who fought bravely on behalf of our nation, we must rededicate ourselves to ensuring that the VA has the tools it needs to be the 21st century, world-class healthcare system that our veterans deserve. One way the VA can modernize is by embracing telehealth and using new technologies to provide more timely and convenient care for our veterans.

The VA has seen tremendous growth and interest in telehealth over the past few years, and we should continue to find innovative ways to connect veterans with the providers that they need, no matter their physical location. This will particularly help rural veterans, and will help us expand access to specialty care from the medical centers to the community clinics, and even into veterans' homes. I have seen this firsthand at the Oxnard community clinic in my district, which is able to connect veterans to retinal specialists and audiology specialists using telehealth technology, making it easier for veterans to get better care closer to home.

The House Veterans' Affairs Committee has also heard from many veterans who have used telemedicine services. For instance, at a field hearing in my district, Zachary Walker, a Navy veteran, testified about the fast and efficient service that telemedicine can deliver to our veterans, getting him in the door to his local clinic faster than a traditional appointment.

Our bill is a commonsense solution that will allow us to further expand on these telehealth services by permitting VA providers to conduct telehealth treatment across state lines no matter their location, connecting more health professionals with the veterans who need their care.

It has been my pleasure to work with Congressman Glenn `GT' Thompson, and Senators Joni Ernst and Mazie Hirono, to advance this bipartisan, bicameral bill, which has received widespread support from the Veterans Service Organizations and the VA. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as may consume.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 2123, the VETS Act of 2017.

Since its very inception, the Veterans Health Administration has been a leader in medical advancements and the delivery of healthcare. This legislation would ensure it continues this history of leadership by allowing VA providers to engage in the delivery of telemedicine to veterans all over the country, regardless of where the provider is located. These are paper barriers, these are legal barriers, not barriers of technology, to allow us to deliver care.

Telemedicine and medicine, in general, is changing so rapidly, we need to make sure that barriers are not put in place, especially for rural veterans, and many of us have them all over.

Last week, I did a field hearing in International Falls, Minnesota, which, by the way, will be 1 degree tomorrow for all of you, just so you know. Those folks are veterans. They have served, but they are miles from a VA facility. The technology that we have, and we know it works, allows them to get that.

If we have veterans sitting on State borders, if we have veterans sitting in remote areas, it sometimes makes it difficult. It will give VA the tools it needs to remain a leader in the use of telehealth technology.

I am particularly thankful to Representatives Thompson and Brownley for their leadership. They identified a problem, worked on it, and came up with a workable solution that we can put into statute, making sure, the bottom line, again, that every veteran, regardless of geographic location, gets the best, most advanced care possible.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, again, it makes sense. Removing some of these paper barriers, as the gentleman from Michigan said, geography, weather, other things, it makes sense to use the technology to improve the care.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2123, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 2123, the Veterans E-Health and Telemedicine Support Act of 2017. This legislation would allow the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health professionals to practice telemedicine across state borders if they are qualified and practice within the scope of their authorized federal duties. Under current law, VA doctors can only provide telehealth treatment across state lines if the veteran and the doctor are located in federal facilities. The VETS Act of 2017 removes these barriers and allows VA physicians to provide treatment without a location restriction. Veterans will no longer be required to travel to a VA facility, but rather can receive telemedicine treatment from anywhere, including their home or a community center.

In this technologically advanced age, there is no excuse for us to withhold support from veterans. Telemedicine allows qualified practitioners to reach veterans even in the most remote areas. Currently, location requirements make it difficult for veterans-- especially those struggling with mental health issues--to get the help they need and deserve. H.R. 2123 will ensure that our veterans can obtain the best care possible regardless of where they are in the United States. I fully support H.R. 2123 to make lifesaving resources easily accessible for the veterans who have dutifully served our country