Duckworth Secures VA Commitment to Improve Maternal Health Care for Veterans

Duckworth Secures VA Commitment to Improve Maternal Health Care for Veterans

Senator secures VA commitment to continue working together to get her Maternal Health for Veterans Act passed into law

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) pressed U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials today to protect access to maternal health care for Veterans. During the U.S. Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (SVAC) hearing, Duckworth raised her longstanding concerns about the VA's failure to provide every Veteran in need of perinatal care with the world-class care and support they deserve-especially Black, rural and disabled Veterans, who often face higher risks of maternal morbidity and mortality compared with non-Veterans. These concerns come as the number of women Veterans continues to grow and the VA faces a severe staffing shortage after the Trump Administration removed 40,000 dedicated civil servants from the agency. Video of Duckworth's remarks can be found on the Senator's YouTube.

"The population of women Veterans continues to grow faster than any other demographic of Veterans, and pregnant Veterans-especially African American Veterans, Veterans living in rural areas and Veterans with disabilities-face unique challenges," said Duckworth. "They are also often at higher risk of maternal morbidity and mortality compared with non-Veterans. The need for sustained investments in-and continued oversight of-VA's maternity care programs is more urgent than ever."

During the hearing, Duckworth also secured a commitment from Dr. Mark Koeniger, Acting Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Patient Care Services at the Veterans Health Administration, on behalf of the VA to continue working with her as she seeks to pass her Maternal Health for Veterans Act. Duckworth's bill builds on her Protecting Moms Who Served Act-signed into law in 2021-that strengthens oversight of VA maternity care coordination and expands access for women Veterans.

"Between 2011 and 2020, the severe maternal morbidity rate for Veterans nearly doubled, with Black or African American Veterans experiencing the highest rates," continued Duckworth. "My bill would help empower the VA to expand access to maternal care for women Veterans-regardless of ethnicity or zip code-and help save lives, and I will hold Dr. Koeniger to his commitment today to continue working with me on this critical legislation."

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs officials participating as witnesses in today's hearing included David Barans, Deputy Vice Chairman and Clerk of the Board for the Board of Veterans' Appeals, Dr. Mark Koeniger, Acting Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Patient Care Services at the Veterans Health Administration and Margarita Devlin, Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits at the Veterans Benefits Administration. Other hearing witnesses, including Wounded Warrior Project, AMVETS and Military Officers Association of America, testified in support of the Maternal Health for Veterans Act.

Duckworth has been a fierce leader and advocate for improving our Veterans' and servicemembers' access to the care they need. Earlier this month, she introduced the bipartisan Copay Fairness for Veterans Act that would eliminate out-of-pocket costs that Veterans are disproportionately forced to pay for preventative health care services they've earned through their military service. In September, she reintroduced legislation that would improve Veterans' access to contraception and increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness for contraceptive products at the VA. A few weeks prior, Duckworth sent a letter to VA Secretary Collins demanding he block ICE from stealing VA resources at Hines VA Hospital in Chicago.

Duckworth also joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in reintroducing legislation to help make it easier for our Veterans who struggle with infertility to build their families. Earlier last year, Duckworth railed against the Trump Administration for indiscriminately firing Veterans Crisis Line workers and introduced her Protect Veteran Jobs Act with U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) to reinstate the thousands of Veterans who were fired in Trump's mass layoffs-an effort Republicans shamefully blocked in March.

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