Thousands of health care professionals who separate from active duty each year now have a route to stay in federal health care jobs, including open positions in US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals. President Biden signed the Hire Veteran Health Heroes Act of 2021 into law on November 30, saying, “This new program will build upon existing efforts to create a pipeline for former military health professionals….to allow those professionals to continue their service to each other and to our nation.”
Senators Mike Braun (R, Indiana) and Maggie Hassan (D, New Hampshire) introduced the bill last March; Representatives Robert Latta (Ohio-05) and Kathleen Rice (New York-04) introduced companion legislation in the House.
The Act serves multiple purposes, including to retain the critical experience of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians, and physical therapists who understand the challenges service members face; to give those professionals continued employment; and to fill empty staff positions. Two years ago, the VA Inspector General said staff shortages are a root cause of many of the problems in veterans’ care.
The bill directs the VA to create a program to recruit military medical personnel who are within 1 year of completing their military service. On average, 13,000 active-duty medical department members separate from the military each year at the end of enlistments or contracts, or through retirement. But until now, there has been no formal program to actively recruit them to stay.
The Act requires VA leaders to work with US Department of Defense officials to identify, refer, and transition service members who have critically needed skills. Moreover, the bill specifically mandates that if a member of the Armed Forces expresses an interest in working in a health care occupation within the VA, the VA Secretary “shall refer the member to a recruiter of the Department for consideration of open positions in the specialty and geography of interest to the member.”
Senator Hassan, in an official statement, said, “[W]e must always ensure that veterans have the support and resources that they need to succeed, and a critical way to do that is by expanding employment opportunities for our nation’s heroes and strengthening their health care.”
In his remarks, President Biden said, “For both our veterans and our military medical personnel, service isn’t just what they do, it’s who they are.”