U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Holds Health Net Accountable For ‘Poor Performance’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined a bipartisan group of Senators to demand the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) take action to hold Health Net, the contractor that helps run the Choice Program, accountable for its “frustrating and completely avoidable” customer service problems and late payments to community providers.

Following years of Health Net’s poor performance and empty promises to improve its customer service, the Senators, led by Jon Tester (D-MT) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), wrote to VA Secretary David Shulkin urging him to take immediate action to guarantee that Health Net meets its contract requirements and fulfills its responsibility to our nation’s veterans.

“Our home state providers deserve better than the miserable customer service provided to them by Health Net, who appears to be devoting even less attention to the Choice Program as its expiration nears,” the Senators wrote. “Moving forward, we expect VA to take immediate action to address our concerns so that the provider experience is improved. And if Health Net continues to underperform, we urge VA to immediately enforce penalties, including the potential discontinuation of any payments, until Health Net starts meeting all of its contractual obligations and most importantly, its responsibilities to America’s veterans.”

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) also signed the letter to Secretary Shulkin.

The full text of the Senators’ letter is available HERE.