U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen met with more than 400 veterans and their families in August in a series of six roundtables across his Congressional District, according to a press release from his office.
Larsen heard questions and comments from veterans on a variety of issues, including reforms at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and successes and challenges getting access to services like health care, job training and housing. He provided a summary of some of the themes from the roundtables and underscored his continued commitment to connecting veterans with the services they need.
Larsen provided the following updates based on common themes from the roundtables:
VA Choice: “One major VA reform that I voted for and Congress passed in 2014 created VA Choice, a three-year program to allow veterans living more than 40 miles from VA health care, or who had waited more than 30 days for a VA appointment, to access non-VA care at no extra cost.
“At the roundtables, many veterans had concerns and questions about VA Choice. Some veterans shared that the Choice program helped them get the care they need in a more timely way, while others have had major challenges. Representatives from the VA Puget Sound Health Care System attended the roundtables and helped answer veterans’ questions about how the program is supposed to work and how to navigate the system. I will be looking at whether there are ways to adjust Choice to get rid of roadblocks for veterans in Northwest Washington. Veterans with questions about the Choice program can call the Choice Champions Call Center at 206-764-2876.”
CBOC Update: “I had the opportunity to tour the Mount Vernon CBOC and hear about the various services the clinic offers. Residents in the North Puget Sound rightly advocated for the clinic several years ago, and I was pleased to work with Sen. Patty Murray to open the clinic and bring VA services closer to veterans in the Second Congressional District. Now the clinic has become a victim of its own success because demand has outgrown what the facility can provide. The clinic was designed to serve 6,500 patients, and it is now serving 8,500. The clinic is currently working to address its shortage of primary care doctors through different recruiting and retention efforts.
“Many veterans at the roundtables expressed frustration that they could not get into the clinic in a timely way, and they wanted to know why the clinic does not have enough doctors. Part of the issue is the high demand for the clinic. VA facilities also are competing with private hospitals and clinics for doctors amid a national primary care physician shortage. These are not excuses, but explanations for what is happening at the Mount Vernon CBOC. Clinic leaders I spoke with are actively working to hire more primary care doctors.
“VA representatives at the roundtables discussed the possibility of another CBOC north of Seattle. I am ready to get to work to make a new clinic a reality to bring more accessible health care to veterans.
“On the mental health care side, I want to be clear that the CBOC accepts walk-in patients weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. These same-day appointments are designed to assist veterans who may need immediate mental health care.”
