Senate panel to hold Alaska field hearing on veterans health care

JUNEAU, Alaska — The U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs has agreed to hold a field hearing in Alaska on veterans' health care in the state.

Sen. Dan Sullivan's office announced Wednesday that the hearing will be held in August.

Sullivan requested the hearing "to help identify the breakdown" in implementing a new federal program meant to allow veterans access to care at facilities outside the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs system. He and other state political leaders have raised concerns with the rollout of the program and its impact on existing access to care for Alaska veterans.

Alaska's system had been a model for the new federal Choice Program.

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