U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, along with Reps. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona, and Don Davis, D-North Carolina, recently introduced the bipartisan Rural Veterans’ Improved Access to Benefits Act.
The legislation is aimed at ensuring veterans living in rural communities have access to health care providers for their required disability claim exams, a news release from the office of Gluesenkamp Perez stated.
In 2020, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act was signed into law, allowing certain exam providers to temporarily practice across state lines.
Gluesenkamp Perez co-led the bipartisan VET MEDS Act with Ciscomani to extend this authority, which was signed into law as part of a larger Senate package in October 2023, the release stated. However, this authorization is currently only available to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, audiologists and psychologists, and it expires in January 2026.
The Rural Veterans’ Improved Access to Benefits Act would make this authority permanent and expand the categories of providers who can perform cross-state disability exams to increase access to care.
The bill would also require the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a mechanism for providers to submit evidence that a veteran brings with them to the examination to the VA, a process which is currently not in place, according to the release.
“Veterans bravely served our nation — but the unfortunate reality is that it can be hard to access examinations or VA specialists in many communities,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “Our VET MEDS Act was signed into law to extend improved access to VA-certified examiners in rural communities — and this bipartisan bill will make those changes permanent, while making it less difficult for veterans to submit evidence to the VA that substantiates their benefits claims.”
This year, Gluesenkamp Perez again urged the VA to reopen a clinic in Lewis County, and she introduced bipartisan legislation to expand eligibility for rural veterans across Southwest Washington to get transportation to VA health facilities, the release stated.
