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Washington, D.C.- Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) introduced a bill today to rescue inpatient services at the Veterans Medical Center in Saginaw. Kildee’s bill would specifically prohibit the Secretary of Veteran Affairs from closing or relocating the inpatient services at the Aleda E. Lutz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Saginaw, as proposed under the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARE) initiative.
“Eliminating inpatient care at Lutz Medical Center will have a devastating impact on the quality and accessibility of medical care for over 60,000 veterans in mid-Michigan,” said Kildee. “Since the CARE Commission has failed to reconsider their recommendation, I have decided to introduce a bill to rescue the valuable inpatient services at Lutz Medical Center. All of our nation’s 26 million veterans deserve immediate and convenient access to the best medical services available.”
In Michigan, 130,000 veterans rely on the services and benefits of the Veteran Affair’s health care system. The Lutz Medical Center provides essential medical care to more than 60,000 veterans in the mid-Michigan region. As part of a nationwide cost cutting effort, the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services Commission was created to evaluate the delivery and accessibility of medical care to our nation’s veterans. The Saginaw Medical Center is one of only eight facilities nationwide that would be forced to eliminate inpatient medical care for veterans under the proposed plan. As a result, veterans would be forced to receive treatment at a community hospital or travel more than two hours to the nearest Veteran Medical Center for inpatient care.
Prior to introducing the bill, Congressman Kildee joined several of his Michigan colleagues in sending a letter to the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Chairman of the CARE Commission to express their strong opposition to the Commission’s recommendation. Unfortunately, the CARE Commission has failed to reverse its recommendation to remove the inpatient care services at the Saginaw facility. |
