Congressman John D. Dingell

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Washington, DC - Today, the US House of Representatives passed HR 1538, The Wounded Warriors Assistance Act, by a vote of 426-0. Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15), who is a veteran himself, is a longtime supporter of increased resources for veterans and service members. The Congressman praised the passage of the bill.

“The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act is the first step in strengthening our commitment to service members and their families and to address many of the problems we have seen. This is the least we can do to thank them for their heroic efforts and loyalty to this country,” Dingell said. “This bill will reinforce the safety net to ensure that not only do our injured heroes receive the best possible care, but that we build a system that they can trust. No one should have to fight for quality care, especially not those who are returning from fighting battles abroad on behalf of all of us. I believe the work done by Chairmen Skelton and Snyder, along with Ranking Members Hunter and McHugh will strengthen our military healthcare system to provide enhanced care for service members, veterans and their families.”

HR 1538 includes provisions that will:

• Improve the system of case managers for wounded service members to require that case managers for outpatients handle no more than 17 cases and review each case at least once a week to better understand patient needs.
• Create a system of patient advocates for outpatient wounded service members. These patient advocates would carry a caseload of no more than 30 outpatients.
• Establish a toll-free hot line for reporting deficiencies and requiring rapid responses to address complaints.
• Establish independent medical advocates to counsel and advise service members being considered by medical evaluation boards.
• Call for improved training of health care professionals, medical case managers and patient advocates to increase their effectiveness in providing assistance for wounded warriors.
• Create an Army Wounded Warrior Battalion pilot program intended to track active-duty soldiers in “outpatient status” who still require medical care.
• Begin the process of reforming the disability evaluation system.
• Improve the transition of wounded service members from the Armed Forces to the VA.

The Congressman added: “I have visited Walter Reed as well as two veterans’ medical centers in southeastern Michigan. I am constantly impressed by the many exceptional men and women who have given so much of themselves for freedom, liberty and the United States of America. It is time we show them that we care for them as much as they care for their country. I am proud of this bill and I am committed to continuing to improve the military healthcare system. We have much more to do, but this bill is a good first step in a new direction for our servicemen and women.”