{"id":2182844,"date":"2024-02-21T11:47:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T16:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-is-too-busy-bankrolling-ukraine-to-stop-the-va-from-processing-illegals-health-care-costs\/"},"modified":"2024-02-21T11:53:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T16:53:48","slug":"congress-is-too-busy-bankrolling-ukraine-to-stop-the-va-from-processing-illegals-health-care-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-is-too-busy-bankrolling-ukraine-to-stop-the-va-from-processing-illegals-health-care-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress prioritizes funding for Ukraine over addressing the issue of processing health care costs for undocumented immigrants at the VA"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">40<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcongress-is-too-busy-bankrolling-ukraine-to-stop-the-va-from-processing-illegals-health-care-costs%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2182844&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Congress\u200d Prioritizes\u2062 Illegal Immigrants Over\u200b Veterans<\/h2>\n<p>Members \u2064of Congress love \u200bto profess their alleged support for America\u2019s military veterans. But if \u2063that\u2019s true, why are they ignoring the \u2062agency tasked with caring for veterans\u2019 medical needs, steering its resources towards illegal aliens?<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the past several months, controversy\u200c has engulfed the Department\u2064 of Veterans Affairs (VA) over its processing of health care claims for illegal aliens.\u200c At issue is a contract between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) \u200band the\u200b VA\u2019s Financial Service\u200b Center (VA-FSC), dating back to 2002, that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2024\/feb\/15\/prioritize-resources-for-veterans-not-for-illegal-\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">authorizes<\/a> \u2063 the latter to \u201cprocess reimbursement claims from \u2062providers for health\u2064 care\u2063 costs of illegal \u200baliens in\u2063 ICE custody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While illegals in ICE custody are \u201ctypically treated onsite by medical professionals,\u201d agency\u200b officials\u200b are permitted to take them to\u2062 an \u201cindependent private provider\u201d if a \u2062\u201cspecialist\u200c or emergency care\u201d is\u2062 deemed necessary, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/vulnerable-senate-democrat-silent-biden-admin-providing-veteran-medical-resources-illegal-immigrants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fox News<\/a>. It\u2019s these types of cases in which ICE \u201ccontracts\u201d with the VA-FCS \u201cto process reimbursements\u2064 to those providers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccording to a report from July, ICE has hundreds of \u200cletters of understanding in which \u2064ICE\u2019s \u2064Health Service Corps (IHSC) \u2062will reimburse providers at Medicare rates,\u201d the report reads. \u201cThat uses the VA-FSC\u2019s \u200dHealthcare Claims Processing System, which is \u200da portal that allows providers to submit and view claims\u200c and access\u200b other resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ICE ultimately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2024\/feb\/15\/prioritize-resources-for-veterans-not-for-illegal-\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reimburses<\/a> the VA for its \u2064services.<\/p>\n<p>The policy has generated backlash among Republican lawmakers such \u2064as Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who recently\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/health\/other\/gop-senator-fumes-over-biden-admin-providing-veteran-medical-resources-to-illegal-immigrants\/ar-BB1iciU8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blasted<\/a> the Biden administration for prioritizing illegal immigrants over the \u200bwell-being of American veterans. Amid the onslaught of\u2062 criticisms, VA \u2063Press\u200b Secretary Terrence Hayes has <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/4AcsS#selection-1759.13-1759.62\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">denied<\/a> allegations that the agency is \u201cprovid[ing] or fund[ing] any health care to ICE detainees.\u201d He\u2019s also downplayed how many\u2063 resources the VA uses \u200cwhile fulfilling\u2064 the policy.<\/p>\n<p>Tuberville\u2019s office \u200bhas since <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/01\/10\/news\/va-ripped-for-reimbursing-migrant-treatment-as-veterans-wait\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">accused<\/a> the agency of \u201cplaying word games\u201d and \u201cusing Community\u2062 Care \u2064Network providers for illegals.\u201d \u200cThe term \u201ccommunity care\u201d \u2064is in reference to non-VA \u2064health \u2064care practitioners who provide medical services to\u200c veterans. \u200cAccess \u2064to these programs was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/30\/us\/politics\/veterans-health-care.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expanded<\/a> under\u2063 the VA MISSION Act, \u200bwhich was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2018\/06\/06\/trump-signs-law-expanding-vets-healthcare-choices\/673906002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signed<\/a> into law\u200b by former President Trump in \u2064June 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Writing for The Washington Times, Mark Mostert, a senior \u200bresearcher at Able Americans, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2024\/feb\/15\/prioritize-resources-for-veterans-not-for-illegal-\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a> that it is \u201cinaccurate\u201d for the VA to claim it\u2064 \u201cdoes not \u200cdevote significant resources and\u2063 energy\u200d to processing \u200bof medical claims via ICE\u201d and highlighted how the\u2064 VA-FSC \u201cprocessed 161,538 ICE claims totaling $94.3 million in 2022 [alone].\u201d He also observed the backlog in veteran benefits\u2062 claims, noting how cases more than doubled between \u20632022 (150,000) and 2023 (417,181).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen \u200ball is said \u2063and \u200ddone, this issue demonstrates that while the \u200dVA does not pay for\u200d medical care for illegals, considerable effort, resources and \u2062money are spent\u200c to \u200dprocess illegal alien medical claims within the VA,\u201d Mostert \u200dwrote. \u201cAny\u200c resource-siphoning from the true focus of\u2064 the VA \u2014 military veterans who have \u2064served their country \u2014 should be urgently reconsidered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In December, Tuberville and GOP Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tuberville.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/tuberville-house-va-chair-bost-introduce-no-va-resources-for-illegal-aliens-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">introduced<\/a> the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tuberville.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/HEY23F724.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">No\u200d VA Resources for Illegal\u2064 Aliens Act<\/a>\u201d\u2064 to prohibit the VA secretary \u2064from \u201cproviding health care to,\u200b or engaging in claims processing for health care \u200cfor, any individual unlawfully present in the United States who\u200c is \u2062not eligible for health care under the laws administered by the Secretary.\u201d Neither the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/house-bill\/6744\/all-actions?s=1&#038;r=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">House<\/a> nor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/senate-bill\/3490\/actions?s=1&#038;r=40\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Senate<\/a> has voted on the legislation since \u2063its introduction.<\/p>\n<h2>Congress\u200d Has Bigger Fish to Fry<\/h2>\n<p>While the Biden-manufactured <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/category\/national-security-2\/border-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">border invasion<\/a> has continued to wreak havoc on \u2063the VA\u200b and other public services, Congress \u200bhas spent the past\u200c several weeks focusing\u200b on what \u2063few outside of \u2063Washington, D.C. care \u2063about \u2014 providing billions\u200b of U.S. taxpayer dollars to Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>After their <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/06\/nothing-about-the-rigged-senate-border-bill-is-in-the-national-interest\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sham \u201cborder\u201d bill<\/a> fell apart, Senate Democrat and Republican \u2063leadership\u200c dropped\u200c their \u2063feigned concern about the U.S. border crisis and quickly \u200crammed through\u2063 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/money\/markets\/senate-moves-forward-with-israel-ukraine-funding-after-vote-on-super-bowl-sunday\/ar-BB1i7w7g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$95 billion foreign aid package<\/a>, \u2063most \u200bof which is \u200bearmarked for Kyiv. The measure received the\u2064 backing\u2062 of\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/LIS\/roll_call_votes\/vote1182\/vote_118_2_00048.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">22 Senate Republicans<\/a>, whose support pushed it over the finish line.<\/p>\n<p>While House Speaker \u200bMike\u2064 Johnson has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/13\/speaker-mike-johnson-will-be-firing-himself-if-he-caves-on-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">declined<\/a> to\u200d bring the package to \u2062the floor \u200cfor\u200d a vote, America Last-ers in both \u200cparties are orchestrating a \u2062pressure campaign to \u2063bully the Louisiana Republican into permitting such a vote. Establishment Republicans \u2062are even <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/4463791-speaker-johnson-ukraine-aid-rebuff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> considering a \u201cdischarge petition\u201d to force the House to vote\u2064 on the measure.<\/p>\n<p>The levels to \u2064which \u2064Congress will go to\u2063 force through an almost\u200b $100 billion foreign aid package to fund Ukraine\u2019s forever war is a spectacle to behold. If only its \u2062members \u2062bothered\u200d to fight as hard for the veterans who fought for America\u2019s freedom.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<hr>\n<p>Shawn \u200cFleetwood\u2063 is a staff writer for The Federalist \u200band a graduate of the \u200cUniversity of Mary Washington. \u200dHe previously served as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-american-freedom-convoy-set-to-launch-on-march-1\/\" title=\"Exclusive: \u2018American Freedom Convoy\u2019 Set To Launch On March 1\">state content writer<\/a> for Convention of\u200c States Action \u2064and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including\u200b RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth,\u2062 and Conservative Review. Follow him on\u2062 Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> \u2064How has\u2062 the\u200d contract \u2062between ICE and the VA&#8217;s Financial Service Center impacted the processing of healthcare \u2064claims\u2064 for illegal immigrants?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  >In recent \u2064months, there has been a \u2062growing controversy surrounding the Department of Veterans \u2064Affairs (VA) and its handling of healthcare claims for illegal immigrants.\u200c While members of Congress often claim\u200c to \u200bsupport America&#8217;s veterans, their actions seem to prioritize illegal immigrants over the well-being of those who have served in the \u2064military.<\/p>\n<p>The issue revolves around a contract between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the\u2063 VA&#8217;s Financial \u200bService \u200bCenter \u200b(VA-FSC) that dates back to 2002. This contract authorizes the VA-FSC to process reimbursement claims from providers for healthcare costs of \u200billegal aliens in \u2062ICE custody. While most medical treatment for these individuals is typically handled on-site by ICE medical professionals, there are cases \u2064in\u2063 which they require the \u200dservices of independent private providers for specialized or emergency care. It is \u2063in these instances that ICE contracts with the VA-FSC to process reimbursements to the providers.<\/p>\n<p>According to a \u2062report, ICE has hundreds \u2063of \u2062letters of understanding \u200bin which their Health Service Corps\u2064 will reimburse providers \u2062at Medicare rates using the VA-FSC&#8217;s Healthcare Claims Processing \u200cSystem. In essence, ICE reimburses the VA for the medical services rendered to illegal immigrants in \u2063its custody.<\/p>\n<p>This policy has faced backlash from Republican lawmakers, such as Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, who criticized the Biden administration for putting illegal immigrants ahead of American veterans. Despite the criticism, VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes has denied allegations that the agency provides or funds healthcare for ICE detainees. He has also downplayed the resources used by the VA in fulfilling this\u2064 policy.<\/p>\n<p>Tuberville&#8217;s office \u200baccused the \u2063VA of playing \u2062word games and using community care network providers meant for\u200d veterans to provide healthcare services \u2062to illegal immigrants. The term &#8220;community\u200b care&#8221; refers to non-VA healthcare practitioners who offer medical services to veterans. Access to these programs was expanded under the VA MISSION Act, signed into law\u200d by former President Trump in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Mostert, a senior researcher\u200b at \u200cAble Americans, highlighted the\u200d VA-FSC&#8217;s significant involvement in \u200cprocessing medical claims for ICE detainees. He pointed out that the VA-FSC processed 161,538 ICE claims totaling $94.3 million\u2064 in 2022 alone. At the same time, there has been a mounting backlog of veteran benefits \u200dclaims, with \u2062cases more than doubling between\u2064 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The issue at hand highlights the VA&#8217;s allocation of resources and energy towards processing medical claims for\u200c illegal immigrants, diverting attention and resources\u2062 away from the true focus of the \u2064VA, which should be military veterans. Republican \u2064lawmakers like Tuberville and Illinois Representative Mike Bost\u2064 introduced the\u2064 &#8220;No \u200bVA \u2062Resources for Illegal Aliens Act&#8221; to prohibit the VA Secretary from \u2064providing healthcare or engaging in claims processing for individuals unlawfully present in the United States. However, no vote has been taken on the legislation to date.<\/p>\n<p>While the VA faces these \u2062challenges with the influx of illegal immigrants, Congress\u2062 seems to\u2062 be \u2064preoccupied with other matters. The past weeks have witnessed a\u200c focus on providing billions of US taxpayer dollars to Ukraine, a topic of little\u2063 concern to the general public outside of Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the controversy surrounding the VA&#8217;s handling of healthcare\u2062 claims for illegal \u2062immigrants raises concerns about the prioritization of resources. As\u200d America&#8217;s\u2062 veterans wait for their benefits and care, \u200cit is crucial for Congress to address this \u200bissue and ensure that the needs of those who \u2063have served their country are given the attention and resources they deserve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Care for veterans. Despite Congress members&#8217; claims of support for veterans, they seem to overlook the VA&#8217;s struggles and instead prioritize resources for illegal immigrants. The VA has faced significant criticism recently, raising concerns about its ability to effectively provide medical assistance to those who have served in the military<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2182845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/70th_National_Veterans_Day_Observance_at_Arlington_National_Cemetery_on_November_11_2023_-_05.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2182844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/70th_National_Veterans_Day_Observance_at_Arlington_National_Cemetery_on_November_11_2023_-_05.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2182844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2182844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2182844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2182845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2182844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2182844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2182844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}