Federal Grant Application Request Item 13: Department of Veterans Affairs Transportation of Veterans in Highly Rural Areas

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1 Federal Grant Application Request Item 13: Department of Veterans Affairs Transportation of Veterans in Highly Rural Areas Analyst: Michelle Deister Request: Approve, retroactively, the submission of a federal grant application to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the amount of $400,000 for transportation of Oregon veterans in highly rural areas to medical appointments. Recommendation: Approve the request. Analysis: On September 3 rd, the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) notified the Senate President and Speaker of the House of its intention to submit a grant in the amount of $400,000 to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide access to care to veterans in the counties of Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Wallowa, and Wheeler. ODVA intends to submit its application on September 18, The deadline to apply is October 2, 2015, and notice of award is expected by late September. ODVA will seek an increase in Federal Funds expenditure limitation in the 2016 session if the grant is awarded. The grant is for a period of one year. No state or local matching funds are required, and no additional positions are needed to administer the grant. ODVA applied for and received this grant in 2014, on behalf of the aforementioned counties. The need for reliable transportation for rural veterans is compounded due to limitations on the number and frequency of medical appointments that can be accommodated within the VA medical system and in rural areas, where the demand for healthcare outpaces the number of providers. When veterans are able to obtain an appointment, it is imperative that they attend the appointment, and be on time. Counties used the earlier award to enhance medical-related transport to veterans. Routes were established or existing transportation services enhanced to include transport to any needed medical appointment for a veteran, not just VA medical facilities, including door-to-door service, in ADA compliant vehicles with assistance in loading or unloading at no cost to the veteran. With the 2014 award, 6,400 hours were spent transporting veterans on 2,104 trips covering 171,763 miles. The Federal VA Choice Act promotes and authorizes private medical care for rural veterans; ridership is anticipated to increase commensurate with additional health care options that are available to these veterans. Only counties which received funding in 2014 are eligible for grant awards in 2015, in the amount of $50,000 per county. ODVA acts as the applicant and grantee on behalf of the counties, and will consolidate individual county s applications into a single application. If the grant is awarded, ODVA will then pass through the funds and monitor for compliance to grant requirements. For 2015, counties must again identify ridership, develop a marketing plan for improving transportation services, and address logistics (such as providing a driver and vehicle). Counties are proposing to use grant awards to preserve and maintain the transportation programs established in To the extent that this federal grant is not available in future years, it is probable that counties will reduce transportation services to veterans, or seek alternate sources of funding. The Legislative Fiscal Office recommends approval of the request. Legislative Fiscal Office Interim Joint Committee on Ways and Means September 2015

2 13 Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs Brickman Request: Retroactive authorization to apply for a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) for transportation of Oregon veterans in highly rural areas. Recommendation: Approve the request. Discussion: The Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) is requesting retroactive permission to apply for a grant from the USDVA for transportation of Oregon veterans in highly rural areas. The department received notice, on September 3, 2015, from the USDVA about the opportunity to apply for a third round of funding available for the transportation of veterans in highly rural areas to address the issues of access to health care. The Chief Financial Office and the Legislative Fiscal Office received the ten day letter on September 3, The grant is due on October 2, 2015, but the department plans to file on September 18, 2015 to qualify for technical assistance. The department s role related to this grant is to apply on behalf of Oregon counties and pass the grants through once approved by the USDVA. During the 2014 Legislative Session, the department requested and was authorized to apply for a rural transportation grant from the USDVA. This was the first round of funding made available by the USDVA. Each county that worked through the ODVA to apply was eligible for no more than $50,000 each. The purpose of the grant is to develop innovative approaches to transporting veterans in highly rural areas to medical appointments. In the initial round of funding, the ODVA applied for $300,000 for the following counties: Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Morrow, Sherman, and Wheeler. Subsequent to the 2014 Legislative Session, the ODVA became aware of a second round of funding and met with the Chief Financial Office and the Legislative Fiscal Office regarding the requirements to apply for a second round. It was decided that because this grant was merely an extension of additional funds available under the same program, the department did not need to return to an Emergency Board to ask for permission to apply. The ODVA then applied for an additional $100,000 for Malheur and Wallowa Counties, and came before the September 2014 meeting of the Emergency Board to ask for limitation to disperse those grants to the two counties. This third round of funding is available only for those counties that received funding in the past. The department intends to apply for $400,000, which results in $50,000 for each of the eight counties that previously received funds. The department anticipates that it will receive notice of the grant request results in late September. No state match is required for this grant. During the 2015 Legislative Session, a $1 Federal Funds placeholder was built into the ODVA budget in anticipation of any potential federal grants that became available during the interim. For the purposes of the September meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Ways and Means, the department is asking for retroactive authorization to apply and will have to come back during the February 2016 Session to receive the limitation if it is awarded the grant. To apply for the grant, the counties are required to submit a viable plan demonstrating the capability of providing the requisite services. The USDVA requires each county s plan to include information such as identifying ridership (veterans needing medical transportation), developing a marketing plan, and logistics (such as providing a driver and vehicle). After notice of award, but Department of Administrative Services 13-i September 30, 2015

3 prior to actual receipt of the Federal Funds and payment of funds to counties, ODVA requires each county to submit a signed certification of the amount of funds that have been expended thus far. Additionally, the ODVA performs spot audits to ensure that appropriate documentation exists to support certifications. In the past, limited partnerships existed within counties to provide veterans transportation to medical appointments. For example, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) provides transportation to veterans, but it is a pick-up and return to a pre-designated location (i.e., a Safeway parking lot) and to USDVA facilities only. Additionally, the veteran must be fully ambulatory needing no assistance getting in or out of the vehicle. Under this grant, the counties provided medical transportation to any medical appointment for the veteran (not just at VA Medical facilities), door-to-door service, in an ADA-compliant vehicle with assistance loading and unloading, at no cost to the veteran. According to the proposals, counties have used the USDVA funding to either establish or extend existing transportation services and routes to provide this benefit to the veterans. Over the past year in these eight counties 6,413 hours were spent transporting veterans on 2,104 trips covering 171,763 miles.. Department of Administrative Services 13-ii September 30, 2015

4 Department of Veterans Affairs 700 Summer St NE Salem, OR September 4, 2015 The Honorable Senator Richard Devlin, Co-Chair The Honorable Representative Peter Buckley, Co-Chair Interim Joint Committee on Ways and Means 900 Court Street NE H-178 State Capitol Building Salem, OR Dear Co-Chairpersons: Nature of Request The Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) requests retroactive permission to apply for a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) for transportation of Oregon veterans in highly rural areas. The purpose of the grant is to develop and continue innovative approaches to transport veterans to VA Medical Centers, and to otherwise assist in providing transportation services in connection with the provision of VA medical care to highly rural veterans. No state match is required in support of this anticipated grant award and there are no requirements for additional ODVA full-time equivalents (FTE). Background On September 3, 2015, ODVA provided notice of its intent to apply for a USDVA grant for transportation of Oregon veterans in highly rural areas. The USDVA established this program to address the issue of access to care and will grant $50,000 per county if the grant is approved. ODVA successfully applied for this grant last year, and is requesting approval to reapply for newly available federal funds. Only counties who received grants in the prior year are eligible to apply. Eligible Oregon counties include Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Wallowa and Wheeler. ODVA anticipates notification of a grant award in late September Serving Oregon Veterans Since 1945

5 Action Requested ODVA requests retroactive permission to apply for the USDVA highly rural transportation grant. Legislation Affected None. Sincerely, Cameron Smith Director