Press Releases

 Today Congressman Brad Wenstrup (OH-2), a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, responded to the recent assessment of veterans’ healthcare released by the Commission on Care.

The Commission on Care (Commission) was created by Congress under the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014. Its fifteen members include professionals with a wide variety of healthcare, military, and veteran-service experience. They were tasked with providing recommendations on how to organize the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in order to provide the best healthcare delivery to veterans. They released their 300-page final report on July 6, 2016.

Congressman Wenstrup issued the following statement after meeting with Ms. Nancy Schlichting, the chairperson of the Commission, to discuss the Commission’s report and their recommendations:

"The report confirmed what too many of our veterans experience firsthand:  the medical care system at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is racked with systemic problems.  For too long, Congress has responded to these problems by making cosmetic adjustments or by fixing an isolated aspect of the problem. We must take a more comprehensive approach to reforming VHA care delivery, and this report identifies many of the shortcomings that Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs must work to address. While I am continuing to review the Commission’s recommendations, I specifically applaud their recommendation to give primary care providers the authority to coordinate care for veteran patients. I believe the health IT recommendation is also critical to make this system work in real time.

 I am grateful for the significant time and effort invested by the members of the Commission, and I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Administration to ensure that the VHA provides the best possible care for our veterans."

The Commission’s report can be found here.

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Office of Representative Brad Wenstrup

www.Wenstrup.House.gov