Congresswoman Angie Craig: “Starving USPS Could Result in 80 Percent of Veterans Missing Their Prescriptions”
Craig Pushes Postmaster General and the Department of Veterans Affairs to Stop Political Games Resulting in Delays
Today, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie, Jr. asking them to urgently set aside political games and prioritize delivering mail, including prescription drugs to America's veterans.
The VA fills nearly 80 percent of veteran prescriptions by mail, due to the high accuracy and lower processing costs of the Department's mail-order pharmacy service, the Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP). The VA CMOP fills almost 120 million prescriptions a year, with deliveries arriving daily to about 330,000 veterans across the country. Veterans and the VA rely on USPS for timely delivery of these prescriptions, since approximately 90 percent of CMOP packages are shipped to veterans by the Postal Service.
"I will not stand by and watch these recent attempts to politicize, dismantle and delay postal services, which put the lives of more than 330,000 veterans every day at unnecessary risk," said Rep. Angie Craig. "I am strongly urging both Postmaster General DeJoy and VA Secretary Wilkie to immediately set political gamesmanship aside and serve the needs of the public. The politicization of the Postal Service is a grave disservice to the hardworking employees of the Postal Service and puts American veterans in harm's way. We cannot allow partisanship and the politicization of this essential service to endanger those who have served our country."
Rep. Craig is a steadfast supporter of the USPS and has joined her colleagues in pushing to make sure it is properly funded throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can read the full letter below.
Dear Postmaster General DeJoy and Secretary Wilkie,
I write to express my deep concern about the reliability of the United States Postal Service to deliver prescription drugs to America's veterans in a timely manner. Recent attempts to politicize, dismantle and delay postal services are unacceptable and put the lives of countless patients in danger.
As you know, many veterans depend on the United States Postal Service to deliver their prescription drugs. VA fills nearly 80 percent of veteran prescriptions by mail, due to the high accuracy and lower processing costs of the Department's mail-order pharmacy service, the Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP).[1] The VA CMOP fills almost 120 million prescriptions a year, with deliveries arriving daily to about 330,000 veterans across the country. Veterans and the VA rely on USPS for timely delivery of these prescriptions, since approximately 90 percent of CMOP packages are shipped to veterans by the Postal Service.
Additionally, veterans who live in rural communities like those in my district depend on mail-order pharmacies. As COVID-19 continues to endanger vulnerable populations, USPS-delivered prescriptions remain the safest way to protect the elderly and those who are immunocompromised.
The recent restructuring of the USPS significantly weakens the ability of the Postal Service to respond to local needs. New operational standards designed to reduce expenses have rendered postal workers unable to deliver mail in a timely manner.[2] I remain concerned that the reductions of overtime availability, restrictions on extra mail transportation trips, testing of new mail sorting and delivery policies at hundreds of Post Offices, and the reduction of processing equipment at mail processing plants will cause additional burdens on the VA system and VA patients.
In addition to the timely delivery of prescription drugs, veterans also depend on the Postal Service for receiving their bills for copays from VA. As you know, veterans often get a bill every month, but my office has received reports from local veterans that their VA bills are arriving every 3-6 months. This often leads to unmanageable expenses for veterans who are on a fixed income.
The Postal Service motto states, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." The politicization of the Postal Service is a grave disservice to the hardworking employees of the Postal Service and puts American veterans in harm's way. We cannot allow partisanship and the politicization of this essential service to endanger those who have served our country.
Sincerely,
Angie Craig
Member of Congress
[1] Pharmacy Benefits Management Service, Department of Veterans Affairs. https://www.pbm.va.gov/PBM/CMOP/VA_Mail_Order_Pharmacy.asp
[2]https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/05/senate-democrat-launches-inquiry-into-postal-service-delays/