Duckworth, Sheehy Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase Access to Innovative Veteran Health Care

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) introduced the pro-Veteran, bipartisan Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act to increase Veterans’ access to innovative health care and ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is prepared to better care for Veterans with emerging mental health therapies.

“Veterans suffering from invisible wounds like PTSD and depression deserve the same level of care from their VA as those with physical wounds, and it’s past time we do more to ensure our VA is equipped and prepared to navigate these Veterans’ unique needs,” said Duckworth. “Our bipartisan legislation recognizes that the VA is uniquely positioned to oversee and administer this care as our Veterans’ medical center home and would cut red tape and establish groundbreaking infrastructure to more quickly review and approve emerging therapeutics for our wounded warriors. Equally important, it would require annual reports to Congress on clinical outcomes, research and success from innovative therapies so we could evaluate what works and establish those best practices Department-wide. Our bill is about making our VA work better for our heroes, and that should always be a bipartisan matter.”

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“After young Americans who signed up to fight for our nation and were willing to give up their own lives for others come home, we better make sure the VA is ready to care for them and that they have access to the best, most innovative care available. The VA’s core mission is to care for veterans, and this bipartisan bill will help the hardworking men and women at the VA fulfill that critical mission,” said Sheehy.

This bill would establish a dedicated Office of Novel Therapeutics within the VA and ensure the department is prepared to safely evaluate and implement emerging therapies by establishing centralized governance, workforce readiness planning and clinical implementation infrastructure within the Veterans Health Administration.

Along with Duckworth and Sheehy, this legislation is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and John Boozman (R-AR).

The full text of the bill is available on Senator Duckworth’s website.

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