Veterans’ health access bill passed

Congress passed – and President Biden signed into law on Jan. 2 – the bipartisan, bicameral Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act (S 141). The new law includes a number of provisions aimed at improving dental care for the nation’s veterans. Specifically, it allows the VA Secretary to raise the pay limits for dentists as well as other healthcare providers employed by the VA, requires assessment reports on dental and oral health care programs furnished by the department, and calls for the creation of a new two-year pilot program in up to four states for veterans currently ineligible for VA dental benefits to receive VA dental care if they have been diagnosed with ischemic heart disease.