Two Northwest Indiana veterans have been trying to make the state aware of the economic opportunity it's losing by having so many Hoosier vets seek care outside of Indiana.
This week, lawmakers finally took notice.
The Indiana House of Representatives on Tuesday voted unanimously for a resolution asking the Veterans Affairs department to better allow veterans to access health care services locally.
"They recognized Indiana veterans are getting short-changed," said Tom Pappas, a Portage veteran and activist on veterans issues. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, he found veterans from Northwest Indiana spend at least $45 million annually on care in Chicago, making this an economic issue for the state.
In 2014, Congress enacted the Veterans Choice program, which is supposed to allow veterans who have to wait for more than 30 days or travel 40 miles for appointments to seek care from local participating providers.
But, as The Times reported late last year, many veterans have been unable to access the Choice program because of difficulties getting appointments made through the program's vendor for Indiana, Health Net Federal Services. U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., recently called on the contractor to fix the problems.
"Our veterans have sacrificed so much defending our nation, the least we can do is ensure that they are receiving the health care they need and deserve," said state Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage, who presented the resolution to the House.
The resolution requests "immediate action by both the U.S. and Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure the effective administration of both the Veteran's Choice Act such that veterans can quickly and easily access local healthcare options when facing undue delay or long commutes."
"Hopefully they actually do something about it and make the Choice Act work," said Dan Orlich, a fellow Portage veteran and activist. He and Pappas said they'd wanted the Indiana Senate to pass a similar resolution but couldn't get any senators to agree to introduce one.