Pappas Secures Commitment from VA Secretary to Resolve VA’s Community Care Problems, Hindering Care for Veterans

Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), who serves as the Chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, secured the commitment of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie to resolve the ongoing problems facing VA's Community Care Networks (CCN) during a Congressional hearing.

VA's implementation of the MISSION Act last summer expanded veterans' access to local providers through the creation of CCNs which allow veterans to get more care, closer to home. These new networks required many local providers to transition to a new third party administrator to process claims. This transition has exacerbated existing payment issues and left regional providers with millions of dollars in unpaid claims. Mounting unpaid claims have prompted providers to stop caring for veterans and our veterans are suffering as a result.

Today's full committee hearing focused on the VA's recently proposed budget. Pappas received assurance from Secretary Wilkie that the VA is committed to working through the backlog of provider claims to ensure the quality of care for our veterans is not hindered.

You can watch the full exchange HERE.

Earlier this February Congressman Pappas chaired a hearing on the challenges facing community care providers as a result of MISSION Act implementation and invited the co-founders of Veteran & First Responder Healthcare, a Manchester-based, veteran-owned community care provider, to testify on their experiences and illustrate the problem faced by veterans and care providers alike. Congressman Pappas also led a bipartisan letter to the VA regarding this issue after hearing from local veterans and providers.

Furthermore, Congressman Pappas has met with a VA community care provider and patients across the District, as well as the New Hampshire Hospital Association to discuss payment issues.