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Panel OKs 6 more benefit improvements

The House Veterans Affairs Committee has passed a pile of legislation, combining proposals from more than 20 lawmakers into a collection of health and benefits bills that lawmakers said will improve the quality of life of veterans and their families.

In a series of voice votes, bills passed by the committee during a July 16 meeting cover a wide range of issues:

* An ombudsman responsible for patients’ complaints and for a network of patient advocates would be created by HR 2192. The ombudsman, assigned to the Veterans Health Administration, would be required to have a board to hear appeals that cannot be resolved by patient advocates or a set of regional administrators.

* A three-year test of rural health treatment through non-VA health facilities is included in HR 1527. The test would take place in four regions and apply to “highly rural” veterans who live more than 60 miles from the nearest VA primary care facility. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., chief sponsor of the bill, said his district has many hospitals but no VA facilities. “We have a lot of people who have to travel long distances to access health care, which generally means they do not access health care at all,” Moran said.

* A health policy bill, HR 6445, would waive co-payments for hospital and nursing home care for catastrophically disabled veterans, provide counseling to the families of veterans being treated for nonservice-connected conditions, and order a new pain management program.

Family counseling when a veteran is not receiving service-connected treatment is currently limited to instances in which counseling is considered essential to the discharge of a patient, but Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., who sponsored the provision, said that that is too restrictive, considering that counseling can be important to a patient’s recovery, not just the discharge, and that family counseling already is provided for veterans receiving treatment for service-connected reasons.

* An education and business bill, HR 6221, includes a five-year pilot program that would expand work-study programs for vets on college campuses by allowing jobs as tutors, researchers and lab assistants and student service jobs to be covered. Also in the bill is a provision authorizing a 10-year, $60 million program that would help veterans convert their military skills into civilian jobs when their military occupation does not automatically translate into post-military employment.

* A minority veterans advisory committee, due to expire at the end of 2009, would become permanent under HR 674.

* VA support for the U.S. Olympic Committee for Paralympics is included in HR 4255, which authorizes grants but also requires oversight of how the money is spent. Veterans who are part of a paralympic team could get a monthly allowance under the bill. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., said the bill represents an effort to get the federal government to support a program that is good for the rehabilitation of disabled veterans.