Chairwomen Lee, Brownley Lead Joint Hearing Examining VA’s Telehealth Operations During COVID-19
Washington, D.C. – Chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization Susie Lee (Nev.-03) and Chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health Julia Brownley (Calif.-26), led a joint hearing examining the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) telehealth operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Included in COVID-19 emergency funding, Congress appropriated $2.15 billion to the Office of Information Technology (OIT) for VA information technology. These funds were intended to support increased telework, telehealth and call center capabilities to deliver health care services directly related to the coronavirus and to mitigate the risk of viral transmission.
Rep. Lee highlighted the government-wide effort to upscale telehealth at VA:
"Today, we will discuss how VA has used technology to soften the impact of the pandemic on veterans, specifically by rapidly scaling up its infrastructure and mobilizing its providers to be able to deliver care through telehealth.
"Congress also saw the need, and provided resources, to rapidly scale technology and provide flexibility in care delivery. These changes enabled VA to continue its vital mission, even while the parameters of health care changed.
"Congress appropriated over $2 billion to support VA information technology for the pandemic response. The Committee has received a high-level breakdown of spending, and some lists of hardware that VA requested, but we feel that more details are needed to ensure that we are being good stewards of taxpayer funds."
Rep. Lee stressed that VA must account for those veterans with limited access to telehealth as they continue to improve their services:
"While there have been successes in this scaling up, many questions still remain about the future of telehealth at VA. Also, we cannot assume that scaling up equals access.
"As with much of technology, tools are only as good as people's access to them. There exists dramatic disparity when it comes to veterans living on tribal lands and in rural areas, namely in access to broadband internet.
"We've also seen major racial and economic barriers to care when it comes to access to the technology needed to participate in telehealth.
"We would like to hear from VA about what it is doing to expand telehealth access to those underserved communities, and how it intends to ensure that all eligible veterans receive the care they have earned."
"It is clear from today's discussion that while VA was able to pivot to telehealth with a lot of success, there have also been some challenges in reaching our most vulnerable veteran populations, which will require ongoing creativity, commitment, and resources to fully address," said Chairwoman Brownley. "As VA reopens its facilities and resumes in-person care, VA must also articulate a clear plan and strategy for continuing and expanding telehealth access."
BACKGROUND: Rep. Lee has continued to fight for relief and resources for veterans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 28, Rep. Lee participated in a House Veterans' Affairs Committee (HVAC) virtual forum, discussing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic and health care services for homeless veterans.
The CARES Act also gave the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) the authority to provide telecommunication equipment to case managers and participants in the HUD-VASH program and remove statutory limitations on funding for the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) and the Grant Per Diem (GPD) rate. Unfortunately, the CARES Act did not provide VA homeless programs with all the waivers and authorities that it needs during COVID-19 pandemic.
Rep. Lee also helped introduced the bipartisan Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act, which was signed into law by President Trump on April 28. This law helps hundreds of thousands of student veterans retain important GI Bill, work study, and housing benefits that were at risk due to fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.