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Lawmakers, territory veterans press VA to send traveling specialists to islands; VA asks for implementation details
Summary
Representatives and veterans from U.S. territories urged passage of the Territorial Response and Access to Veterans Essential Life Care Act (Bridal Act) to authorize traveling VA physicians for up to one-year assignments; VA said it supports the concept with clarifications on care coordination and bonus eligibility.
The House Subcommittee on Health heard testimony supporting the Territorial Response and Access to Veterans Essential Life Care Act (H.R. 3400), sponsorshiped by Representative King Hines, which would authorize temporary VA physician assignments to U.S. territories and possessions to address specialty care shortages.
Representative King Hines described extreme provider scarcity in the Northern Mariana Islands and called the lack of local specialists ‘‘offensive’’ to veterans who must travel to Guam, Hawaii or the mainland for cardiology or neurology care. She said the bill would allow VA to send physicians for assignments of up to one year and include bonuses and coordination mechanisms to recruit and retain clinicians.
Randy Johnson, a Marine Corps veteran from the Northern Mariana Islands, testified that veterans on his islands frequently travel thousands of miles and at personal cost to receive care. He described clinics with only one part‑time physician and multiple veterans who must pay out of pocket for transport and lodging.
VA witnesses said the department supports the intent of the bill, but asked to work with the committee to clarify provisions. Dr. Ilsa Wekers said VA would like to better understand what “care coordination” entails in the bill’s proposed section requiring traveling physicians to coordinate with non‑departmental providers. VA also requested technical edits on bonus eligibility and coordination to ensure authority matches existing personnel and pay rules.
Members and witnesses emphasized recruitment and retention barriers in remote territories, including costs and quality‑of‑life differences that make relocation difficult. Representative King Hines noted that transporting pets can be cost‑prohibitive for prospective recruits; in one account she cited an approximate cost of $10,000 to move a pet to the Northern Mariana Islands.
The committee did not vote. Members asked VA and bill sponsors to work together on implementation details—particularly around care coordination and bonus authorities—so a program can be operationalized without unintended staffing or budget consequences.
