Pappas, Bergman Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Veterans’ Emergency Care Coverage

Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee,and Jack Bergman (MI-01) introduced the Removing Extraneous Loopholes Insuring Every Veteran Emergency (RELIEVE) Act. This bipartisan legislation would eliminate a glaring gap in veteran emergency care insurance coverage by expanding emergency coverage under Care in the Community for veterans.

Currently a Veteran must have received health services at a VA facility within the last 24 months in order to be covered under Care in the Community. This protocol fails to account for the reality that it often takes more than a month for a Veteran to complete their first appointment – resulting in a critical gap in insurance coverage. The RELIEVE Act would close this gap by reimbursing Veterans for emergency care services received in a non-VA facility for non-service-connected conditions in the 60 days following the Veteran’s enrollment in the VA healthcare system, even if the Veteran has not yet had a VA health care appointment.

“No veteran should ever think twice about seeking the care they need during an emergency, and no veteran should be faced with costly medical bills due or bureaucratic challenges for receiving that care,” said Congressman Pappas. “Our bipartisan legislation would ensure veterans can receive the reimbursements they are due, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to guarantee no veteran has to jump through hoops to have their health care covered by VA, especially in the case of an emergency.”

“The RELIEVE Act is one of many needed bridges to ensure new Veterans don’t fall into the abyss between the DOD and VA’s care coverage. With this bill, we’ll eliminate a dangerous loophole that could impose crippling emergency care debt on a recently separated servicemember," Rep. Bergman stated.

Background:

Pappas’s RELIEVE Act passed the House in the 117th and the 118th Congress. In the 118th Congress, the bipartisan legislation passed the House by unanimous vote. In the 117th Congress, the lawmakers successfully secured the RELIEVE Act in the House-passed version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The provision, however, was ultimately removed from the final version of the bill signed into law.

To read the bill, click here.