On April 10, PVA testified before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee to discuss women veterans’ access to care. Several VA witnesses made up the first panel, including the Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Clinical Services, the Acting Chief Officer of the Office of Women’s Health, the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for the Office of Field Operations for the Veterans Benefits Administration, and a witness from the Office of Healthcare Inspections for the Office of Inspector General.

The second panel was made up of several veterans service organizations, including PVA, and a veteran who is a mental health professional from the Chairman’s state of Montana. While the hearing primarily focused on overall access to VA healthcare and benefits, a significant amount of attention was given to the issue of military sexual trauma (MST) and ways the VA could improve outreach to women veterans and the benefits process for all MST survivors, as well as how Congress can continue to support VA’s efforts.

PVA’s statement focused on the lack of accessibility provisions in the Deborah Sampson Act, a bill which passed a few years ago and made necessary improvements to the delivery of gender-specific care, access to long-term services and supports, the need for increased research for older women veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders and increasing access to IVF. PVA also stressed the need for increased cultural competency for VA staff when it comes to processing claims for veterans with complex injuries and illnesses.

You can watch the hearing here. You can read PVA’s statement here.