Congressman Nick Begich is a co-sponsor of H.R. 740, the Veterans ACCESS Act of 2025, joining House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost to put veterans’ health care at the top of the priority list.
The legislation strengthens the Veterans Community Care Program to ensure veterans receive timely access to healthcare and to stop the Department of Veterans Affairs from restricting medical referrals to non-VA providers.
“Our heroes deserve the best possible care, without excessive wait times or bureaucratic barriers,” said Congressman Begich. “I’m proud to co-sponsor the Veterans ACCESS Act because Alaska’s veterans should never be forced to wait in line for care that is available in their own communities. This bill puts veterans first, strengthens private healthcare options and ensures that no veteran is forced to wait or travel extreme distances for care they should be able to receive closer to home.”
Alaska’s veterans, particularly those in rural areas, often face severe challenges in reaching VA facilities. The Veterans ACCESS Act of 2025 puts veterans back in control of their healthcare through these changes:
- Codifying Access Standards – Ensures veterans can seek private healthcare if the VA cannot provide care within 20 days (primary/mental health) or 28 days (specialty care), or if travel exceeds 30-60 minutes.
- Holding the VA Accountable – Prohibits the VA from misrepresenting appointment availability to deny veterans access to community care.
- Strengthening Mental Health & Substance Abuse Treatment – Requires the VA to approve residential mental health and addiction treatment admissions within 48 hours, ensuring veterans in crisis receive immediate care.
- Ensuring Transparency – Mandates that veterans receive written notice when community care is denied, including the reason for denial and clear appeal instructions.
As an independent contractor, I have been very pleased that I can participate in mental health care for our veterans, and I can fit them into my schedule pretty much like any other patient. Most seem very appreciative of what we have to offer. I’m sure that there are many good providers in the VA system, but logistics is often a problem.
The Community Care Program does not work for veterans in Anchorage. The better physicians here will not accept VA patients because they prefer to work with other patients, who pay better and faster. I am an 80% service-disabled veteran and attempted to make an appointment with a physician far superior to any on staff at the Anchorage VA Clinic. The doctor’s office receptionist told me that this office does not accept VA patients because: 1) the VA pays less than the amount billed and 2) the payment that eventually shows up is considerably late. When physicians can get paid what they bill and quickly, they do not want to waste their time and energy on VA patients.
I fly to Portland at my expense to access the VA benefits I have earned because these benefits are not available to me in Anchorage. This is NOT what I was promised when I joined the Women’s Army Corps all those years ago. And the “leadership” and all others who work at the Anchorage VA Clinic have developed and display the slogan: Take it or leave it … we don’t give a damn”.
What a nice change to have Begich as our representative. I can’t think of anything Peltola did
She voted for every democrat shiny she was told to vote for. Cheers –
YES! VA care is terrible! They get paid whether they treat you well or not & it shows. It’s about time we actually did something meaningful for healthcare when it comes to vets! Giving them a choice in the matter is the least we should do!
Only question is this…costs. Will non veterans pay more because of the added patient load? Will VA funding be cut due to reduced utilization? I’m thinking no. It’s never wise to give preference to one group over another. I appreciate everything veterans have done but why not repair their health system?
Vouchers. Vouchers. Vouchers. Cheers –
This is not a new idea. My grandfather, a WWII disabled combat veteran and POW advocated for 50 years that the veterans should get a medical benefit card that all healthcare providers must accept, and that it be paid for by the sale of VA property nationwide.