Grassroots group running television, digital ads asking Wisconsinites to urge Senator Baldwin to support health care choice for veterans.
MADISON – Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) is launching a major campaign to educate Wisconsinites about Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s failure to address the Tomah VA scandal while also encouraging the public to call her and urge her to support more health care options for veterans.
The grassroots group is investing $1.5 million in statewide TV and digital ads asking citizens to call Baldwin and tell her to support the Veterans Community Care and Access Act of 2017. This campaign is part of CVA’s long-running effort to increase health care choice for veterans who use the VA.
View the ad here: https://bit.ly/2EkOlYN
CVA Executive Director Dan Caldwell released the following statement:
“We plan to make veterans health care a major issue this year as part of our long-term campaign to reform the way the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) delivers care to our veterans. Part of this effort includes highlighting when elected officials like Senator Tammy Baldwin fail to ensure that the veterans they represent are being properly served by the VA. Senator Baldwin put Wisconsin veterans in danger when she failed to act on reports of serious misconduct at the Tomah VA. In order to ensure that veterans in Wisconsin aren’t trapped in failing VA hospitals like the one in Tomah, Senator Baldwin needs to step up and support legislation that offers real health choice for veterans at the VA.”
CVA-Wisconsin Coalitions Director Luis Cardona also had this to say:
“When I talk to veterans around Wisconsin, I continue to hear that they want serious reforms to the VA, not just lip service. With this effort, we are bringing the problem to the forefront in our state.
“I look forward to working with veterans and community partners all over the state to improve veterans health care this year.”
For further information or an interview, reach Chris Neefus at CNeefus@cv4a.org or (703) 517-4504.
BACKGROUND
CVA has recently been urging Congress to take action on legislation to stabilize the VA health care system so that Congress can move on to broader structural improvements to the Veterans Health Administration. The group has expressed strong support for the Veterans Community Care and Access Act of 2017, introduced by Senators Jerry Moran and John McCain.
The grassroots group also recently praised the White House for making several strong recommendations on how to reform the VA’s choice and community care programs – including creating clearer standards for when and how veterans can access care through community providers.
CVA Applauds White House for Support of More Health Care Choices for Veterans (cv4a.org, 24 Jan 2018).
For years, CVA has advocated for substantial health care reforms at the VA. In CVA’s Fixing Veterans Health Care Taskforce, the group advocates that veterans should have the option to take their earned health care benefits and use them to access care at the VA or in the private sector.
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