Many of the patients in military and veterans hospitals require long stays, which can place a large financial hardship on families who don't live near the hospital, which is very common.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
No veteran or active duty service member should endure a long hospital stay alone. Yet sadly, due to the high cost of travel, all too often our military families are separated while America's heroes receive care. Sometimes families sleep in hospital parking lots, unable to afford long stays in a hotel.
No military or veteran family should have to choose between paying their bills and being together while one of our nation's heroes is in the hospital.
During their service, men and women in our Armed Forces live by a common creed, promising never to leave a soldier behind. We should live by the same principle. When our veterans are asked to travel hundreds of miles for care that's offered right next door, we simply aren't living up to that standard, and something has to change.
Our veterans and service members are known for their strength, but when they're recovering from an operation or receiving emergency care, that strength can depend on seeing a spouse, talking with the kids or just knowing that loved ones are by their side. It isn't difficult to imagine what a difference keeping families together can make.
Across the country military families are facing dire financial circumstances due to longer than expected tours of duties. They are being penalized for their patriotism - no one should have to choose between doing right by their country and doing right by their families.
We have a VA hospital back home in St. Louis. Like many of our colleagues, we hear continued concerns about the access and the service. I have seen a statistic that more than 60,000 veterans today are waiting more than 6 months for an appointment at a VA hospital.
For our veterans to have to wait long periods of time to receive care is not only unacceptable to us, but to elected officials as well.
You know, veterans come home and they may not be bipolar, but after they've been through a war with PTSD or a head injury, their families have a handful when they come home.
America is the only high income nation without a paid family leave program. This means that if you or a family member gets sick, there is no guarantee that you can take the time you need to take care of yourself or your loved one, leaving already vulnerable families in the position of making hard decisions in cases of illness.
Free lodging for military families with loved ones in the hospital is something all Americans can rally behind.