Legislation aimed at reforming operations within the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system was passed by the Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 93-3. It was swiftly approved with bipartisan support.
The bill, known as the Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act would allow veterans to access doctors outside of the VA system if they live in a rural area or they’ve experience an extended wait time.
It would also provide VA administrators more flexibility to fire under-performing staff.
In a statement before the Senate vote today, Arizona Sen. John McCain said the passage of this bill would be a good first step towards reform.
"There’s no way we can ever compensate for those that have gone without the treatment that they have earned," McCain said. "But at least we can expeditiously fix this problem to the best of our ability."
The Senate-approved version of this bill now goes before the house, which has already approved similar measures.
