Veterans in the Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula boroughs are struggling to find ways to get to their medical appointments after a federal transportation grant ran out of money earlier this month.
Verdie Bowen, director of the state Office of Veterans Affairs, confirmed that portions of the federal grant known as the Maurice "Mo" Bailey Highly Rural Transportation Grant had run out Friday.
He said the $250,000 grant is a portion of a larger $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that the state has applied for over the last two years. The money goes specifically toward helping veterans in rural parts of America travel to VA or VA-authorized health facilities.
Bowen said 26 other states receive funding from the grant, but Alaska receives the most. The state administers the program, allocating $50,000 to each of five Alaska boroughs. That money pays for veterans to get to and from their appointments by either van or cab. Rides are still funded for veterans in Kodiak, the Denali borough and Ketchikan.
The grant, if reapproved, won't be renewed until October of this year, according to Forrest Powell, grant administrator with the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Powell said that would allow funding through Sept. 14, 2017. After that, veterans will have to find some other way to get to their appointments.
The second year of the program has seen a steady increase in demand. According to information provided by the state, the program served almost 6,000 veterans last fiscal year. From October 2015 to March 2016 the ride program was on pace to exceed that number, already serving over 5,600 veterans and traveling over 200,000 miles.
Powell said Kenai this year experimented with picking up veterans in Seward and taking them to Anchorage. Those trips were expensive. He said several veterans also took trips they were not supposed to take with the program. Those costs meant a loss of several days of travel for other veterans, Powell said.
Alaska veterans activist Ric Davidge praised the transportation program in an interview Friday. He said transportation is a common problem for veterans, especially in rural areas.
"Having a van, having everyone know it's there, it's just a support service that's really helpful," he said.
Bowen hopes the agency is somehow able to secure funding for the service after 2017. But with both state and federal funding being reduced, he's not sure that will happen. He said it would take action from Alaska's congressional delegation for the funding to continue.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski spoke on the Senate floor Friday on the failings of the VA Choice Card Program in the state — a program separate from the transportation program — saying that it diminished access to health care in local communities. A message to her office was not immediately returned Friday.
Bowen said he's heard from veterans disappointed about the program ending. He understands their concerns, but noted that the state has been lucky to have it at all.
"Even for (having the programs a) few years, I'm just happy with that," Bowen said. "I just wish everyone was happy with that."