Senate Hearing on VA Telehealth Services for Rural Veterans

• •The hearing took place on July 29, 2020, to review VA telehealth operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• •Rural veterans comprise approximately one-third of all Veterans Health Administration (VHA) enrollees.
• •Rural veterans are on average older and experience higher rates of financial instability than urban veteran peers.
• •The VA accelerated telehealth adoption in early 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions on in-person care.
• •VA Video Connect requires high-speed broadband, which remains unavailable or unreliable in many rural and Tribal areas.
• •The committee emphasized that telehealth is intended to supplement, not replace, in-person medical appointments.
• •The VA is required to continue implementing the MISSION Act to ensure access to community-based care.
• •The VA declined to participate in a prior committee-led listening session involving telecommunications and medical stakeholders.

The hearing evaluates how the VA will continue to deliver medical care to rural veterans, specifically addressing whether remote video and phone appointments will remain a permanent fixture of VA healthcare and how the agency plans to overcome infrastructure gaps like poor internet connectivity.

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.