State lawmakers want the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to act as a hub for expanding the statewide veterans’ health care system across the region.
The plan would leverage federal and state funds to combat Veterans Health Administration wait times that are among the worst in the nation.
Set to be revealed today at a news conference, the proposed bill would take advantage of Department of Veterans Affairs’ existing policy of contracting state entities when it is unable to provide timely service.
“We cannot depend on the federal government to take care of us,” said state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen.
A legislative effort, in collaboration with state Rep. Sergio Muñoz Jr., D-Mission, would explore the challenges of the proposed vets’ care solution through the formation of a working group and craft legislation for next session, Hinojosa said in a news release Friday.
The VA contracts care with Valley Baptist and South Texas Health System hospitals. The bill would expand potential health care providers eligible to provide care.
Muñoz reached out to the UT System in May, asking for veterans’ consideration when planning the new medical school.
“We must simply find a way for our veterans to benefit from the development and implementation of the medical school,” Muñoz wrote in a letter to UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa. “This is why I am requesting that we integrate veteran care on the front end of the new system.”
The proposed health system would rely on VA for funding but would be administered by the state, Muñoz wrote in an Aug. 28 letter to John Sharp, the Texas A&M University System chancellor.
“The proposal... would be to dedicate a portion of the new UT-RGV Medical School as a base for the system of veterans’ care that would be spread throughout the Valley via public and private hospitals and clinics,” Muñoz wrote, hoping to attract more collaborators for the plan. “We could rely heavily on VA funding, but the system would be administered by the State of Texas.”
UT-RGV Medical School Dean Dr. Francisco Fernandez represents the university system on the working group organizing the veterans care plan. Fernandez said the idea is an “absolutely new” way for bringing the federal and state veterans systems together for health care.
Veterans’ emotional health is a major attention of the working group, with post-traumatic stress disorder garnering attention nationwide, said Fernandez, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist.
Organizers hope the plan will help improve vets’ wait times in the Valley. A June VA report revealed the Harlingen veterans clinic had the longest wait time in the nation — 145 days for new patients seeking specialty care, exposing a vulnerable veteran population.
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