Washington, D.C.
Chairwoman Brownley, Ranking Member Bergman, and members of the subcommittee, on behalf of the men and women of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) and its Auxiliary, thank you for the opportunity to offer recommendations on how the 117th Congress and Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) can improve health care for women veterans.
The VFW applauds Congress on years of hard work to pass major women veterans’ health care and mental health comprehensive legislation to improve care. This legislation broadened VA’s scope of care by expanding services to women veterans, evaluating current programs to bring awareness of gaps and achievements, and continuing to study women veterans’ barriers to care as the VA system evolves. Now, the work continues to maintain vigilant oversight of the implementation of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019; the Veterans’ ACCESS Act; and the Deborah Sampson section of the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020.
Women veterans comprise approximately 10% of the veteran population and are the fastest growing cohort within the veteran community. In fiscal year (FY) 2015, 89% of women veterans were between 18-64 years of age. The average age of women veterans who use VA for health care is 51 years old, which is almost 15 years younger than male veterans according to VA data from FY 2017. Reproductive health follows a woman veteran throughout the seasons of her life.