{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=f588d42e-d21d-43cb-8d99-b7560e214e06", "Flake, McCain, and Sullivan Host Field Hearing in AZ on VA Choice Card, Management, and Accountability at Phoenix VA", "2015-12-14", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Jeff Flake", "F000444", "www.flake.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Airz.) today joined U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Ark.), a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, at a field hearing at the Gilbert Town Hall in Gilbert, Ariz. today titled,Keeping the Promise for Arizona Veterans: The VA Choice Card, Management and Accountability at the Phoenix VA Medical Center.The hearing was the third in a series of committee hearings being hosted in cities around the country on the implementation of the Choice Card program, as well as wait-times and quality of care at the VA.\r\nThe field hearing featured two panels of testimony. The first panel includedDr. Katherine Mitchell, a former Phoenix VA Medical Center employee and one of the first people to come forward with evidence that VA bureaucrats were manipulating data and wait-times as veterans died waiting for care. During her testimony, Dr. Mitchell detailed serious problems that still exist at the Phoenix VA Emergency Department, where ill patients are not getting the timely health care they need, resulting in potentially life-threatening delays in care. When Senator McCain asked Dr. Mitchell if she would visit the Phoenix VA emergency room to receive emergency care for herself, Dr. Mitchells answer was no.\r\nChuck Byers, a Vietnam veteran who has successfully used the Choice Card to get the care he needs, also testified on the first panel. Byers explained that the Choice Card has enabled him to receive treatment from an outside doctor for a condition that the VA could not treat in a timely manner. Byers also explained, however, that there are still barriers to using the Choice Card. For example, he said, there are many veterans who do not qualify for the Choice Card because they live within 40 miles of a VA health care facility, even though those facilities do not provide the type of care that these veterans need. Finally,Nicole Morris, a Navy veteran and single mother, detailed her experience waiting for two days in the Phoenix VA emergency room to receive ultimately poor care. Because of this experience and other experiences being denied timely care at the VA, Morris pays out-of-pocket to get care from the private sector.\r\nThe second panel featured VA officials who testified about the current state of management and accountability at the Phoenix VA, includingDr. David J. Shulkin, under secretary for health for the VA; Dr. Thomas Lynch, assistant deputy under secretary for VA Health Clinical Operations; and Ms. Kathleen Fogarty, Interim Director, VISN 18: Southwest Health Care Network.David McIntyre, president and chief executive officer of TriWest Healthcare, also testified about progress being made to connect veterans with private sector doctors through the Choice Card program.\r\nDespite some improvement within the VA, I remain concerned that the tools provided by Congress to address the agencys persistent problems  especially the Choice Card  are not being put to full use,said Flake. Oversight hearings such as this are invaluable in Congress ongoing effort to hold the VA accountable for its past failures while also ensuring that our veterans are finally receiving the quality healthcare they deserve.\r\nTodays field hearing underscores that the VA has a long way to go to fully reform and provide our veterans the timely, quality care they deserve,said McCain.More than a year after VA reform legislation was signed into law, we are still seeing unacceptable wait-times at the Phoenix VA and barriers to veterans using the Choice Card to receive care from the doctors of their choice. It should be our nations highest priority to restore veterans trust in the VA health care system and provide them with the flexibility in health care they want and need. We will not rest until the VA finally delivers our veterans the best quality care they have earned.\r\nChairing today's field hearing reinforced two important themes,said Sullivan. First, we need to do more for our veterans. Secondly, we need to pick up the pace. From Alaska to Arizona, from Georgia to D.C., the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee has heard from frustrated veterans who are tired of waiting and tired of receiving poor quality of care. In spite of a sequestered budget environment, Congress has given billions to the VA to fix what's wrong and to fix it immediately. It's time for the VA to finally get things right. Our veterans have waited long enough.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=f588d42e-d21d-43cb-8d99-b7560e214e06"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2401626445353031, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}