Congressman Steve Pearce (R-NM 2) met with officials from the Veterans Administration in Albuquerque on Friday. The Congressman said he left the meeting with assurances that the VA was going to conduct a pilot program in New Mexico designed to improve health care services to veterans.
Congressman Pearce says the pilot program would involve the government paying gasoline expenses for doctors willing to travel to treat veterans. Pearce says he has asked for the pilot program to occur in the southern part of New Mexico in August.
Recently, Congressman Pearce released a survey that showed 46 percent of veterans strongly disapprove of the VA's handling of veterans' health care. Another 58 percent said they would support a voucher system that would allow them to see a doctor at a non-VA facility. To the VA's credit, 58 percent said they received good care…or better.
The survey, conducted by BWD Global, found that 24 percent of veterans had to wait longer than 30 days for a non-emergency appointment.