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Sen. Bogdan urges VA to expand mobile outreach for Alaska’s rural veterans; VA official says tribal offices, advisory committee will continue
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Summary
Sen. Bogdan pressed VA officials to pursue mobile clinics and other nontraditional outreach to reach Alaska’s rural veterans, citing travel, broadband and provider shortages; a VA official confirmed a reimbursement agreement with IHS and said the Office of Tribal Government Relations and the VA Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs will continue.
Sen. Bogdan told a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing that Alaska faces unique barriers to veterans’ care and urged the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand outreach to remote communities.
“At we’re bigger, we’re badder, we’re just more complicated as you know,” Senator Bogdan said, adding that Alaska “hosts more veterans per capita in Alaska than anywhere else out there” and that many veterans cannot reach care without flying long distances. She listed limited broadband for telehealth and shortages of local health providers as persistent obstacles.
A VA official responding to the senator said the department is looking to move beyond a strict reliance on brick-and-mortar clinics and telehealth. “I want us to break out of the model that everything has to be the way we’ve always done it,” the official said, and raised mobile clinics and mobile health units as ways to preserve access. The official cited the recent closure of an ambulatory clinic in Los Angeles that interrupted almost 1,800 scheduled appointments as an example of why more flexible service delivery is needed.
Sen. Bogdan pointed to existing mobile screening programs — including nonprofit and for-profit mobile mammography units sometimes mounted on barges — as examples the VA could adapt to serve remote Alaskan villages. “You can do that kind of teaming,” she said, urging the VA to consider sending teams to off-road communities to inform veterans about benefits and services.
On tribal coordination, the senator asked about a reimbursement arrangement with the Indian Health Service, the VA’s Office of Tribal Government Relations and the VA Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs. The VA official said both offices and the advisory committee “are both gonna be continuing” and that outreach through intergovernmental offices is increasing. The official also said they expect to travel to Alaska in October to engage on tribal issues; the official did not provide a personal name or formal title during the exchange.
Sen. Bogdan said she would submit written questions for the record on the roof of the Palmer Pioneer Home and on the VA electronic health record rollout planned for Alaska in 2026, noting that prior rollouts had been disruptive and that veterans and staff are anxious about the upcoming transition.
The hearing concluded with the VA official saying they looked forward to the senator’s questions and reaffirming the importance of the EHR rollout and ongoing outreach.
