12.01.05
House Passes $70 Billion for VA Funding

The house recently passed H.R. 2528, the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2006, which appropriates $70 billon for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Funding for Veterans medical care has increased by 18% over the last two years. For the first time ever, this bill allocates $2.2 billion solely for mental healthcare and doubles funding for mental health research. The bill also includes recommendations that the VA initiate a new pilot program to provide a comprehensive restructuring of the complete revenue collections cycle and states that the VA provide quarterly progress reports to the Committees on Appropriations in both Houses of Congress. This will allow the VA to improve their revenue collections of billed amounts from third party insurance companies.