Rep. Michael Michaud represents Maine's 2nd District in the United States Congress.

The vast majority of veterans receiving care through the VA system are satisfied with the care they receive, but too many veterans are still outside the system or do not receive comprehensive care in a timely or easily accessible manner.

Providing the best possible care to veterans should be one of the highest priorities of the federal government. With a new generation of veterans entering the system with their own needs; with the majority of veterans reaching advanced age requiring more complex and long-term care services; and with the overall veteran population declining; it is critical that we examine innovative ways to improve the quality and accessibility of care available to those who have suffered the wounds of war on behalf of our country.

As Chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Health Subcommittee, I had the privilege of holding a congressional field hearing in Sanford, Maine to examine the challenges to accessing care for rural veterans, female veterans and special population veterans. The hearing took place on April 21st and included witnesses from across the state. Veteran service organizations, researchers from the University of Southern Maine, representatives from the State of Maine, and Brian Stiller, Director of Togus VA Medical Center provided testimony.

Recent statistics put out by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) show that nationwide nearly 40% of veterans live in rural areas. This number is expected to grow in the near future as an even higher number of soldiers in the Guard and Reserves are from rural areas.

Providing access to health care for rural veterans poses some unique challenges to the VA. Long distances, travel times, the economic burden of transportation, and a lack of easily accessible specialty care are a few of these challenges. Maine is a very rural state, and because of this, we face many of these challenges. Many of the witnesses spoke from the heart about these challenges, and I appreciated their thoughtful and compelling testimony.

As I have said in the past, the best insights and solutions can most often times be found outside of Washington. It was a very productive hearing. There is no doubt that I will take much of what was discussed there back to Washington.

But just as access to care for rural veterans is a challenge, so too is making sure that the VA provides services to our nation's women veterans. Women veterans present the VA with some unique health needs. For example, gynecological services, mammography and cervical cancer screening are health needs unique to women. Women are also much more likely than men to have experienced sexual trauma in the military.

These challenges need to be overcome because the number of women serving in our military is growing. Currently, women comprise about 14% of current active duty and Guard and Reserve forces and the ratio of enrollment for female veterans to male veterans has increased over the last decade. In Fiscal Year 2007, women comprised 5.2% of all veteran users nationwide and the VA has projected that this percentage will increase to 8.1% by 2011.

The Health Subcommittee has had an ambitious schedule this Congress. We have held hearings on traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress disorder, mental health, long-term care, women and minority veterans, access to care in rural areas, and Gulf War exposures. We have also moved forward with legislation to address mental health, traumatic brain injury and access to care for rural veterans. While we have a long road ahead, by working together we can find solutions. It is my hope that the field hearing held in Sanford will lead to legislative solutions that will improve care provided to all our veterans.