<p>The US Senate Committee on Veteran&rsquo;s Affairs agreed this week to hold a field hearing in Juneau, Alaska to discuss veterans&rsquo; healthcare options in our country&rsquo;s northernmost state as a new program takes effect.</p>
<p>The system in Alaska was a guideline for the new federal Choice Program. Dan Sullivan, Alaska&rsquo;s Republican Senator, worries about the impact this new program may have on existing access to healthcare for veterans living in Alaska.</p>
<p>No doubt the recent Supreme Court decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act has influenced Alaska to take a closer look at what they can do to avoid problems with the new healthcare system for veterans in their chilly state.</p>
<p>It was Sullivan who first proposed the idea of a field hearing, a meeting with the same procedural requirements as a standard Congressional hearing sans location. Sullivan hopes the hearing will &ldquo;help identify the breakdown&rdquo; when implementing a new federal healthcare program that will allow veterans to seek care at locations outside the current system laid out by the US Department of Veterans&rsquo; Affairs.</p>
<p>The US Senate Committee on Veteran&rsquo;s Affairs agreed to Sullivan&rsquo;s proposal and the field hearing is scheduled to take place in August.</p>