Representatives Sheila Cherfilus McCormick (D-FL) and Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) have reintroduced a bipartisan bill improving veterans' access to oncologists through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system.
For additional context, radiation therapy as a cancer treatment has increased in the private sector, and with it are the salaries of therapeutic medical physicists (TMPs). However, TMPs directly employed by the VA make $40,000 less than their private sector counterparts, restricting hiring new TMPs and retaining current ones.
As an additional result, the VA overspends on contracting TMPs from other healthcare providers when the same radiation therapy can be done in-house for less money.
Reps. Cherfilus McCormick and Ciscomani's Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Physicist Pay Cap Relief Act, therefore, raises the salary cap for the VA's current staff of TMPs, thereby improving veterans' access to radiation therapy.
"Our veterans and wounded warriors deserve the highest quality cancer care available," the Florida Congresswoman said in her press release, adding, "Unfortunately, too many VA facilities lack the necessary staff needed to deliver for our veterans. This common-sense, bipartisan legislation corrects a long-standing gap that has prevented veterans from receiving the first-rate oncology treatment they have earned fighting for us on the battlefield."
Similarly, the Arizona Congressman said, "When our veterans and wounded warriors return home, they deserve access to convenient and high-quality care, especially when it comes to receiving cancer treatment."
"However, far too often, VA facilities lack the necessary equipment and staff needed to properly care for our veterans. The brave men and women who serve in our military are America's heroes, and I am proud to co-lead this bipartisan legislation to ensure they are able to receive the oncology care they need at VA facilities," Ciscomani added.
Cherfilus McCormick and Ciscomani had previously worked together to introduce another VA healthcare bill in September. This bill, the Coordinating Care for Senior Veterans and Wounded Warriors Act, would implement a three-year pilot program in which case managers are assigned to oversee and coordinate the benefits offered by Medicare and Veterans Affairs for each veteran enrolled in these systems.
