Gluesenkamp Perez’s Bipartisan Bill to Improve Rural Veterans’ Access to Disability Claim Exams Passes House

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Last night, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez's (WA-03) Rural Veterans' Improved Access to Benefits Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis via voice vote. The bill - which now heads to the Senate for final passage - would ensure that veterans living in rural communities have permanent, cross-state access to certified healthcare providers for their required disability claim exams.

Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez introduced this legislation with Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06) and Don Davis (D-NC-01) earlier this year. The Rural Veterans' Improved Access to Benefits Act would make permanent the ability of certain disability claim exam providers to practice across state lines - increasing veterans' access to care. That authority was originally passed in 2020 when the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act was signed into law and extended in 2023 by the VET MEDS Act, which Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez co-led. The authorization is currently scheduled to expire in 2026.

Additionally, the Rural Veterans' Improved Access to Benefits Act would expand the categories of providers who can perform cross-state disability exams beyond the current list of physician assistants, nurse practitioners, audiologists, and psychologists. It would also require the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a mechanism for providers to submit evidence that a veteran brings with them to the examination to the VA, a process which is currently not in place.

"Districts like ours that border other states or are highly rural are too easily and too often overlooked by policymakers in DC, and I'm proud to serve our veterans and fight to ensure their service is honored - no matter where they call home," said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. "This bill is a good step towards reforming the red tape disabled veterans face and I'm encouraged to see bipartisan support for our legislation."

This year, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez introduced bipartisan legislation to expand eligibility for rural veterans across Southwest Washington to get transportation to VA health facilities.

Full text of the legislation is available here.

###