Sens. Tuberville and Rubio introduce bill to ensure continuity of care at the VA

On Thursday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) joined U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) in introducing the Ensuring Continuity in Veterans' Health Act to require the VA to consider continuity of healthcare when deciding whether seeing a provider in the community is in a veteran's best medical interest.

This legislation follows Senator Tuberville's recent letter to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough urging him to reassess recent actions taken by the department to drastically cut VA referrals to community care.

"Our veterans have sacrificed to defend our country and deserve access to the best care possible," said Sen. Tuberville. "Over the last several years, the Biden-Harris VA has deliberately bogged down the community care referral process to stop veterans from getting the care they are eligible for by law. I am proud to join Senator Rubio's legislation that will require the VA to add 'continuity of care' to its evaluation criteria so that the VA must consider this as a factor to facilitating community care referrals."

"Our veterans have sacrificed so much for this country and often have PTSD or other mental health issues as a result," said Senator Rubio. "Addressing mental health issues takes trust and time. The Ensuring Continuity in Veterans' Health Act will ensure our veterans can continue receiving care from their long-term providers that they have established a trusted relationship with."

Also joining Senators Tuberville and Rubio in introducing the legislation are U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), John Thune (R-South Dakota), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Rick Scott (R-Florida).

U.S. Representative Scott Franklin (R-Florida) has introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

Tuberville serves on the U.S. Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (SVAC).

Senator Tuberville has long advocated for quality and timely care for Alabama's more than 400,000 veterans. This includes not only physical, but mental health needs as well.

Senator Tuberville has helped introduce multiple pieces of legislation-including the Veterans' Health Empowerment, Access, Leadership, and Transparency for our Heroes (HEALTH) Act-to expand healthcare options for veterans, protect their options for community care, and improve the quality of care at VA medical facilities.

Senator Tuberville also introduced the No VA Resources for Illegal Aliens Act to ensure that VA resources intended for courageous veterans are not used to care for illegal aliens. He pressed Secretary McDonough about this and the rehiring of 4,000 VA employees who were dismissed under the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 for their failure to provide swift and safe care to veterans.