Social media has always been a great platform for marginalized communities. This was indeed the case when it came to Army veteran Joseph Cantasano, who went to social media to exhibit his raw emotion in his deplorable experience with his health care at a VA hospital. “I just want some continuity in care dude. I’m so tired of it,” Cantasano said in the video as he struggled to speak through tears. “The VA has continued to let me down.”
What Mr. Cantasano experienced is pretty common. I have even gone through 4 primary care doctors in the past 3 years, and I’m about to lose my 2nd psychologist in 18 months. Just yesterday, I had to cancel my primary care doctor’s appointment for a migraine and severe neck pain. So, my primary care doctor decided to send me a TENS unit, without realizing I had already been given two, which didn’t help.
One piece of legislation that has already been passed, but we are waiting to see its effect is H.R. 5754 – Patient Advocate Tracker Act. It was supposed to be in place no later than 18 months after its enactment, October 27, 2021. So, the deadline was April 27, 2023. Upon my own investigation, at the moment of publishing this piece, I could not find a way to electronically submit a complaint to patient advocacy. But what I have seen is the promptness of submitting an electronic survey following pharmacy visits, radiology, or imaging appointments, etc. These surveys do get passed off to those that can fix the issues. I had blown up that survey when I received the invitation to complete it after an imaging exam. The chief of radiology personally called me two days after submitting the survey. This feature can help improve veterans’ experiences if they complete the survey. So, I highly encourage everyone to do so and to seek out assistance from the patient advocacy office when they are not prompted. This is a really important bill, and I would be remiss to not mention that this act was introduced and championed by House Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) because I have beaten up a lot of Republicans and wanted to show a bit of appreciation for the hard work from the GOP.
The next piece of legislation that has already passed is H.R. 2441 – SGT Ketchum Rural Veterans Mental Health Act of 2021. This act directed the VA Secretary to expand the Rural Access Network for Growth Enhancement Program and also directed a study to access certain mental health care resources of the Department of Veterans Affairs available to veterans who live in rural areas. The study was supposed to be completed after 18 months, and the GAO published the report on February 9, 2023. At this time, it does not appear that the VA has acted on the recommendations, but it has only been 4 months.
There is one piece of legislation that has yet to pass that could indirectly help with the continuity issue in veteran health care. The first is H.R. 2768 – PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program Act, which would make grants to State and local entities to carry out peer-to-peer mental health programs. So if there were peer support specialists available, they could provide that bridge to help with any gaps in coverage.
So please, advocate for this bill to your elected officials.