Reps. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ciscomani Introduce Bipartisan Effort to Expand Cross-State Disability Exam Providers for Veterans
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20) and Congressman Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06) introduced legislation today to expand the pool of providers eligible to cross state lines when conducting disability exams for veterans. Both representatives are members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) contracted physicians have had ability to practice across state lines since 2016. In 2020, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act gave temporary authority to VBA-contracted nurse practitioners, physician assistants, audiologists, and psychologist. This legislation, titled the Veterans Exam Expansion Act, would expand that authority to include dentists, podiatrists, and optometrists. Full text of the bill is available here.
“By allowing VA-contracted medical providers to perform disability exams across state lines, more veterans will be able to quickly get the benefits they deserve and have earned — reducing barriers to benefits nationwide,” said Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ranking Member of the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization. “I am introducing this bipartisan legislation with my House Veterans’ Affairs Committee colleague so that the VA can better serve veterans, including those in rural and underserved communities which face limited access to medical care and examinations.”
“Time and time again, I hear of the burdens our veterans face when it comes to receiving their benefits, from bureaucratic red tape to lengthy wait times,” said Rep. Ciscomani, whose district is home to over 70,000 veterans. “By expanding who and where our veterans can go for disability exams, it will be easier and faster for our veterans to get the disability benefits they rightfully deserve.”
The legislation is supported by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
“With more veterans seeking the benefits they’ve earned, it’s imperative that VA-contracted examiners are allowed to see veterans regardless of state licensing requirements,” said Jim Marszalek, DAV National Service Director. “Extending this expiring authority and adding more medical professionals to the list for license portability will ensure the VA can serve more veterans, particularly those in rural areas, by allowing examiners to work wherever needed. With more examiners seeing more veterans, the Veterans Exam Expansion Act will also help reduce the VA claims backlog. DAV is proud to support this crucial legislation, and we thank Rep. Ciscomani and Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick for their leadership in introducing the bill.”
“The Veterans Exam Expansion Act proposed by Rep. Ciscomani and co-sponsored by Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) makes imminent sense,” said Don Shepperd, a retired Major General in the U.S. Air Force and chair of Ciscomani’s Veterans Advisory Council. “The bill would simply allow certified dentists, podiatrists, and optometrists to go across state lines to conduct VA disability and medical exams. This is not an expansion of benefits but gives veterans living in rural areas near neighboring state boundaries access to the benefits they deserve. I am proud Rep. Ciscomani and his colleagues continue to support bipartisan legislation that will help our veterans and their families.”