Rep. Gabe Vasquez Delivers on Promise to Find Solutions for Veteran Health Care Access with New Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, August 5, 2024, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (N.M.-02) introduced H.R. 9301, the New Mexico Rural Veteran Health Care Access Act, aimed at improving health care access for rural veterans in Otero and Eddy Counties.

“Serving this vast district requires more than talk, it requires action, and I’m proud to offer a real solution that veterans have been asking for years. The fact that Alamogordo veterans must seek medical services at the Albuquerque VA facility when El Paso is exponentially closer, is an example of government bureaucracy at its worst. That’s why I introduced the New Mexico Rural Veteran Health Care Access Actto directly address this problem and make it easier for our nation’s heroes to access the care they need,” said Vasquez. “Long before I held this position, I’ve been showing up and listening to our rural veterans. I will continue to fight to ensure our veterans get the care they deserve closer to home.” 

Earlier this summer in Alamogordo, Vasquez sat down with veteran leaders from the Lincoln Otero County Veteran Leadership Council to discuss the continuing difficulties veterans face in accessing timely, affordable, and accessible health care from Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities. 

Veterans in Otero and Eddy Counties only receive reimbursement for traveling to their assigned VA facility in Albuquerque, almost four hours away, despite El Paso being significantly closer and more accessible. Vasquez committed to working on a solution to permanently include Otero County veterans within the Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) lines that would give them access to the El Paso VA hospital–ensuring New Mexico’s rural veterans have access to their closest VA. 

In response to these ongoing issues, Congressman Vasquez has introduced the New Mexico Rural Veteran Health Care Access Act. This bill aims to change the boundary of care for veterans in Otero and Eddy Counties, allowing them to access their closest VA hospital and nearby Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). This change will strip away unnecessary bureaucracy, drastically reduce wait times, and ensure dignity for the veterans who have served our nation.

“Here in Alamogordo, veterans are struggling to attend required medical appointments and receive little to no money for mileage reimbursement when traveling to El Paso and Las Cruces, even though they are closer than our assigned VA facility in Albuquerque. We do not have buses anymore and are forced to drive without adequate reimbursement. I sincerely appreciate Vasquez’s dedication to finding a solution to the decades-old problem,” said USAF Retired Master Sgt. Roland ‘Coopdawg’ Cooper, Chairman of Lincoln Otero County Veterans Leadership Council. “As a veteran who has spent the past 30 years working with service members and veterans, let me make this point clear. Vasquez is a congressman whom I am glad to have met and has shown he is truly a unique leader. He is people-driven and will go the extra mile to help others.”

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