On May 9, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a hearing to examine pending health care legislation, including the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act of 2013 (S. 131). Sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the bill would expand Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) efforts to improve health care and other support services available to women veterans.
The text of S. 131 is available here.
In her testimony, Heather Ansley, vice president for veterans policy at VetsFirst, said, “The Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act takes important steps toward assisting veterans, their spouses, and surrogates in holistically addressing infertility…The legislation also provides the opportunity for veterans who are severely wounded, ill, or injured to grow their families through adoption. VA’s assistance would be available for the adoption of up to three children or one cycle of in vitro fertilization, whichever is of lesser cost. This legislation also requires VA to facilitate collaborative research with the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health, which will help VA to address the long-term reproductive health needs of veterans.”
Ms. Ansley continued, saying, “VA must continue to improve efforts to address the unique needs and concerns of women veterans. As part of these efforts, VA recently launched the Women Veterans hotline…The Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act would complement and build upon these efforts by ensuring that the Women Veterans hotline is able to connect women veterans with needed services not provided by VA. This legislation also provides veterans who are the primary caretaker of their children the opportunity to receive child care assistance from VA when receiving mental health care services, readjustment counseling, or other intensive health services. This assistance may include stipends for licensed child care services and VA provision of child care services.”
The following witnesses also testified:
