Delegation Secures Vets Clinic Funding
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer and other elected officials said they have secured authorization and funding to upgrade the Prince George’s County veterans clinic, operated by the Veterans Health Administration, in a bill released by the US Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, or PACT Act, which is expected to be considered by the US Senate, is comprehensive, bipartisan legislation led by the chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, Jon Tester (D-MT) and ranking member Jerry Moran (R-KS).
The bill provides health care benefits for all generations of toxic-exposed veterans for the first time in the nation’s history, said Rep. Hoyer (D-MD).
The Maryland lawmakers fought to include authorization for a new Prince George’s County Community Based Outpatient Clinic lease as well as an initial $32 million in funding for the CBOC. The new facility will expand the outpatient services currently provided at the existing southern Prince George’s County and Southeast DC CBOCs for Maryland veterans.
“Our veterans are our heroes and they deserve quality care,” said Congressman Hoyer. “This legislation would strengthen the delivery of health care and provide much-needed upgrades to the current Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Prince George’s County. We owe it to our veterans to provide them with the best possible health care services and benefits they have earned. I join in applauding this bipartisan legislation and am hopeful it will be sent to President Biden for his signature and enacted into law.”
The legislation provides for a lease of an approximately 85,116-square-foot outpatient clinic in the vicinity of Prince George’s County, including 600 parking spaces. The new facility would enable VA to accommodate the workload that the southern Prince George’s County and Southeast DC CBOCs currently service, which has increased since the closure of the Greenbelt CBOC in 2015, and allow more patients to receive care closer to their homes.
It will also facilitate the full implementation of the Patient Aligned Care Team model of care delivery, improving operational efficiencies and the veteran experience. The CBOC will be a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient health care facility offering primary care, mental health, specialty care, and ancillary services to veterans in the area.
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