Bill Text: FL S0852 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: VA MISSION Act of 2018

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Messages [S0852 Detail]

Download: Florida-2019-S0852-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2019                                     SM 852
       
       
        
       By Senator Diaz
       
       
       
       
       
       36-01223-19                                            2019852__
    1                           Senate Memorial                         
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States and
    3         the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,
    4         urging Congress and the department to ensure that the
    5         VA MISSION Act of 2018 is implemented in a manner
    6         consistent with the legislative intent and purpose of
    7         the act.
    8  
    9         WHEREAS, Florida has the third largest veteran population
   10  in the United States, at approximately 1.6 million veterans, and
   11         WHEREAS, the health and well-being of Florida’s veterans
   12  are of utmost importance to the members and body of the Florida
   13  Legislature, and
   14         WHEREAS, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
   15  has been charged with ensuring the health and well-being of
   16  Florida’s veterans, but in recent years, it has failed to
   17  deliver the quality and timely care our veterans deserve, and
   18         WHEREAS, on June 6, 2018, President Donald J. Trump signed
   19  into law the VA MISSION Act of 2018, Public Law No. 115-182,
   20  after the legislation had passed both houses of Congress with
   21  strong bipartisan support and had received the support of over
   22  30 veteran and military service organizations, and
   23         WHEREAS, upon its full implementation, the VA MISSION Act
   24  of 2018 will improve the health and well-being of veterans in
   25  Florida and throughout the entire country and will preserve the
   26  beneficial aspects of the Veterans Health Administration while
   27  giving veterans increased options in community care programs,
   28  and
   29         WHEREAS, the VA MISSION Act of 2018 requires an overhaul
   30  and modernization of the Veterans Health Administration to
   31  provide veterans with more choices for where they receive
   32  medical care through a new and consolidated Veterans Community
   33  Care Program, and
   34         WHEREAS, the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs
   35  operates six skilled nursing facilities and one assisted living
   36  facility for veterans, and the VA MISSION Act of 2018 authorizes
   37  the Veterans Health Administration to enter into community
   38  provider agreements with these facilities to better serve
   39  veterans which will result in allowing these facilities to
   40  seamlessly partner with the administration without becoming
   41  subject to additional federal regulations, and
   42         WHEREAS, the VA MISSION Act of 2018 establishes an
   43  information-sharing process to ensure that safe opioid
   44  prescribing practices are used by community care providers from
   45  which veterans are receiving care, and
   46         WHEREAS, the VA MISSION Act of 2018 expands access to the
   47  VA caregivers program to all veterans who have incurred or
   48  aggravated serious injuries while serving in active duty, not
   49  just those serving since September 11, 2001, and
   50         WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature urges the Federal
   51  Government to further improve the quality of veterans’ health
   52  care available to the state’s veteran population, NOW,
   53  THEREFORE,
   54  
   55  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   56  
   57         That the Congress of the United States and the United
   58  States Department of Veterans Affairs are urged to ensure that
   59  the VA MISSION Act of 2018 is implemented in a manner consistent
   60  with the legislative intent and purpose of the act.
   61         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress and the United
   62  States Department of Veterans Affairs are urged to ensure the
   63  law’s deadlines are timely met so veterans can gain access to
   64  the highest quality of health care both inside and outside of
   65  the Veterans Health Administration system. Successful
   66  implementation requires the timely publication of clear access
   67  and quality standards, seamless access to walk-in care,
   68  innovation in care delivery and claims processing, and meeting
   69  key deadlines as the Veterans Health Administration reviews its
   70  infrastructure needs.
   71         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch
   72  copies of this memorial to the President of the United States,
   73  the Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans
   74  Affairs, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on
   75  Veterans’ Affairs of the United States House of Representatives,
   76  and the United States Senate, respectively, and to each member
   77  of the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.