A bipartisan bill (S-706) seeks to help pare down the backlog of VA disability benefit claims by shifting some of the responsibilities outside the department, the latest in a series of actions in that direction.
The bill would allow local doctors to conduct disability medical examinations for veterans. Currently, veterans must visit a VA facility for that examination.
“Allowing veterans to see a local doctor for their initial examination conserves VA resources, cuts back on long wait times at VA hospitals, enables quicker diagnoses of disabilities, and eliminates unnecessary trips to the VA for veterans in rural communities,” sponsors said in a statement.
The measure comes as Congress has acted to indefinitely extend the Veterans Choice Program, enacted in 2014 to help address wait times for appointments by allowing veterans to get care in certain circumstances in non-VA local facilities with the VA paying the cost.
