[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 3, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E530-E531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SUPPORTING THE JAMES A. LOVELL FEDERAL HEALTH CARE CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 3, 2009

  Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, today I join my colleague from Illinois, Ms. 
Bean, in introducing legislation to enhance the innovative health care 
resource sharing underway between the Department of Veterans Affairs 
and the Department of Defense in North Chicago, Illinois.
  Ten years ago the VA was trying to close the North Chicago VA 
hospital, claiming it was underutilized and that veterans could easily 
commute 40 or 50 miles into Chicago for treatment. At the same time, 
the Navy was planning to close its 40-year-old hospital at Great

[[Page E531]]

Lakes that had earned a reputation for being ``30 stories tall with 30 
patients.'' Even though there were four brand-new, unused inpatient 
wards at the VA hospital a quarter-mile away, the federal government 
was preparing to spend $180 million to replace an outdated military 
hospital and close a VA hospital with an increasing number of patients. 
This simply made no sense.
  In 2001 I began urging the Navy and the VA to examine ways they can 
coordinate their efforts and share resources in North Chicago. After 
four years of intense work, and thanks in large part to the efforts of 
then-Navy Secretary Gordon England and then-Deputy Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs Leo McKay, the two departments in 2005 agreed not only 
to share resources, but to fully integrate the two facilities. Last 
year, they announced that the joint facility would be named for a local 
hero, Captain Jim Lovell, hero of Apollo XIII.
  This bold plan is now recognized as the model for future 
collaboration between the VA and DOD, and integration is well underway. 
They have already merged inpatient care, mental health, surgery and the 
emergency room. When the new facility opens in the summer of 2010, Navy 
and VA will fully integrate the two organizations by combining clinical 
and administrative operations.
  In order to fully integrate the two institutions, though, a few 
statutory changes are required. This legislation would give the Defense 
Department and the VA the authority needed to open an integrated 
federal health care facility in 2010. The bill authorizes the 
departments to transfer property and personnel as needed and in a 
manner consistent with existing law governing transfers of civilian 
federal employees between agencies.
  Our bill also extends the VA/DOD Health Care Sharing Incentive Fund 
until 2020 from its current expiration date of 2010. The daily 
operations at Lovell Hospital will be so integrated that it will be 
difficult to determine whose resources produced the care given, whether 
VA or DoD. This account is funded by both the VA and DOD, and both 
departments agree that it is the most appropriate mechanism to fund the 
joint facility and give its leadership the greatest flexibility to 
operate in a combined manner.
  Finally, our legislation designates Lovell Hospital as a military 
treatment facility, a technical designation needed to prevent military 
retirees under the TRICARE system from being forced to make costly co-
payments when they receive care at the joint facility. Given that the 
inpatient, surgical, mental health, and emergency services are already 
combined, thousands of TRICARE beneficiaries in northern Illinois and 
southern Wisconsin are already subject to co-pays that should not come 
out of their pocket. The vision for Lovell Hospital is to provide care 
for active duty sailors, DOD beneficiaries, and veterans side-by-side 
in one fully integrated facility. The integration has been so 
successful, we need to update current law to recognize that Lovell 
Hospital serves both veterans and Navy personnel.

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