Wicked Local Marblehead: House Passes Moulton's Faster Care for Veterans Bill

A bipartisan bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, aimed in part at cutting down on veterans' wait times to get in front of medical doctors, cleared the House Tuesday.

"Today, I'm proud that the House came together to pass my bipartisan bill," said Moulton, who sponsored the bill alongside Congresswoman Cathy McMorris, a Washington Republican. "This legislation will require the VA to use innovative technology in the private sector and drastically improve access to healthcare for our veterans."

The bill, the Faster Care For Veterans Act, would empower veterans to self-schedule their VA appointments via apps on their phones and from their computers.

If passed in the Senate now, the law would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to build a website that allows veterans to self-schedule appointments as part of an 18-month pilot program.

In doing so, it would marry private sector self-scheduling technologies with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Moulton noted that such private-sector technology has reduced the number of missed or cancelled appointments and saved money.

Moulton and McMorris pointed out in a past Stars and Stripes interview that the VA intends to spend $624 million to replace its existing scheduling system, created in the 1980s.

Moulton called the spending plan "unbelievable" because technology in the private sector already exists.

"Off-the-shelf software already meets appointment scheduling needs in medical offices everywhere," McMorris wrote on her website. "The VA has some bureaucratic systems in place that do not welcome innovative approaches that empower results within the agency."

Tuesday's passage is the first among four bills Moulton has filed seeking to mend what he has characterized as a deeply fractured VA.

A 2014 Department of Veterans Affairs audit revealed over 120,000 veterans either waited up to 90 days to confirm appointments or never received one altogether, according to Moulton's bill. In contrast, the bill also goes on to note, civilians' average wait time for an appointment comes in at 18 days.

In February, Moulton posted a time-lapsed video on his Facebook page showing North Shore Army veteran Dennis Magnasco's four-hour attempt to lock in a VA appointment over the phone. The video immediately went viral, fetching 1 million views and 27,000 shares and bringing attention to Moulton's filed bill. Since the video was first posted, it has been viewed nearly 1.5 million times, and has garnered over 35,000 shares and received thousands of comments of support.

"Our nation's veterans deserve the best healthcare in the world, period," said Moulton, who has opted to receive care from the VA instead of from physicians who care for members of Congress. "I receive excellent service from terrific doctors and nurses at my home VA facility in Massachusetts, but I also know that for far too long, our veterans have been underserved by outdated systems."

"It doesn't have to be this way," he added.

In a press release Tuesday, Moulton touted the bill's passage through the House as his third since entering Congress in January 2015.

"A total which no other freshman House Democrat has surpassed," wrote Moulton's staff.

The other two bills include the Microloan Modernization Act of 2015 and the Modernizing Government Travel Act.

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