By Celeste Maloy, Member of Congress
Rural Utah is a valued part of the Second Congressional District. One thing that I love about our rural counties is that so many veterans live there!
Not too long ago a veteran reached out to my office, because he was frustrated that he had to drive hundreds of miles to the VA facility in Salt Lake City just to be fitted for eyeglasses. One quarter of U.S. veterans – approximately 6.4 million – live in rural parts of the country and one third wear glasses. They should not have to drive hours for care, especially because so many have disabilities from their service. The time and cost of this is an unfair burden on rural veterans, who have dedicated so much to our country already.
The Mission Act did not list eyeglass fittings as a medical treatment covered by VA Community Care Networks, which is why so many veterans in Utah and beyond have been forced to travel long distances for care. This month, I’m proud to have introduced the Servicemember’s Eyeglasses Efficiency Act (SEE Act) to change that.
The SEE Act would add eyeglass lens fittings to the list of medical treatments covered by the Veterans Community Care Program, increasing access to care for millions of veterans in rural Utah. I’m so grateful for our veterans and the sacrifices they’ve made to preserve our freedoms. Ensuring that they get the care they need is one of my top priorities.
Another bill I introduced this month is the Pharmacy Audit and Compensation Transparency (PhACT) Act. We’ve had many pharmacists reach out about PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers) and how they impact independent pharmacies.
PBMs act as middlemen in drug pricing and often audit pharmacists before giving them reimbursements for medicines that they sell to insured customers. Many pharmacists have been failing these audits and thousands across the country have been forced out of business. I know these audits have hurt many rural pharmacies.
The PhACT Act directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to thoroughly investigate how Pharmacy Benefit Managers audit pharmacists and make recommendations for more transparency and fairness. This will help us keep independent pharmacies in business and Utahns taken care of.
I also had important conversations this month with our sheep producers at Smith’s Corral on Cedar Mountain. Our sheep producers play an important role in Utah’s economy and are an essential part of the state’s ecosystem. But their industry is struggling under the weight of inflation, costly government regulations, and tariffs. Keeping this industry alive is important for the state, and I want our sheep producers to know that they have a partner in me in D.C.
Finally, I was thrilled to see the U.S. approve a massive geothermal energy project in Beaver County. I love to see Utahns innovating and leading out on transformative projects like this one. The federal government should never get in the way of that. While it’s encouraging to see the Bureau of Land Management aim to speed up the permitting process for geothermal projects on public lands, we need to do that for more industries! That’s why I introduced the FREE Act which would cut red tape for projects on federally owned land.
Delivering for Utahns and clawing back the administrative state with their rules and regulations – whether it’s for sheep producers or the energy industry – will continue to be at the center of my work in Congress.
It’s an honor to represent you.