[MILRETVET-INFO] Twice as Many Vets Will Now Be Eligible for Non-VA Care

From: RETVET-INFO@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: <RetVet-Info@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2015 16:59:55 -0500
Twice as Many Vets Will Now Be Eligible for Non-VA Care 

*       By  <http://www.govexec.com/voices/kellie-lunney/2348/> Kellie Lunney 
*       1:11 PM ET

More veterans will be able to access health care outside of the Veterans Affairs
medical system under a
<http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2687> change the department
announced on Tuesday.

VA has tweaked one of the Choice program's eligibility requirements -- the
criterion related to a vet's distance from the nearest VA facility -- under
pressure from veterans, lawmakers and veteran advocates. Instead of calculating
geographic distance based on a straight line or, "as the crow flies," the
department will determine eligibility based on the actual driving distance
between the veteran's home and the nearest VA medical facility. The department
anticipates that the change will double the number of vets eligible for the
Choice program, which allows certain vets to receive health care temporarily
outside the VA, if the department is unable to schedule an appointment for the
vet within 30 days, or the vet lives more than 40 miles from a VA facility.

The department plans to publish an interim rule soon in the Federal Register
making the revision official, and will notify vets via letter about the revised
mileage calculation. The department will determine driving distance as
calculated with commercial mapping tools that are "consistent with VA's
long-established beneficiary travel program." The Senate Veterans' Affairs
Committee will hold a Tuesday hearing on the Choice program's 40-mile rule.

The program is a key component of the 2014 Veterans Access, Choice and
Accountability Act, which President Obama signed into law last summer. The
department began sending Choice cards to eligible veterans at the end of last
year, mailing them out in three phases. But the roll-out created confusion, and
many vets who believed they were eligible for the Choice program were turned
away. Since the Choice program took effect in November, more than 45,000 medical
appointments have been scheduled, according to the VA.

"We've determined that changing the distance calculation will help ensure more
veterans have access to care when and where they want it," said VA Secretary Bob
McDonald in a March 24 statement, adding the change was based on "constructive
feedback" from veterans and other stakeholders. "VA looks forward to the ongoing
support of our partners as we continue to make improvements to this new
program," he said.

The Choice program runs through Aug. 7, 2017, or until the $10 billion fund is
"exhausted," according to the
<https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/11/05/2014-26316/expanded-access-
to-non-va-care-through-the-veterans-choice-program> Nov. 5, 2014, interim rule
published in the Federal Register on the program's implementation and
eligibility.

The administration's fiscal 2016 budget proposal recommended shifting any
potential excess money from the Choice program into other areas, but lawmakers
quickly shot down that idea in February saying it could end the program
prematurely. House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Jeff Miller,
R-Fla., called the proposal a "non-starter." As of March 17, nearly 46,000 vets
have sought to receive care using the Choice program, according to VA data.

Miller on Tuesday praised the department for the distance calculation change,
calling it "common sense." But he also said it would take more to ensure VA
implements the program successfully, citing a
<http://www.vfw.org/News-and-Events/Articles/2015-Articles/VFW-Releases-Initial-
Report-on-the-Veterans-Choice-Program/> new survey from the Veterans of Foreign
Wars that found VA didn't offer Choice program enrollment to more than 80
percent of eligible vets who participated in the survey.

"Veterans deserve more choices when it comes to their health care decisions, and
it's up to VA to start providing them, just as Congress and the president
intended," Miller said.

Many others have criticized the Choice program and its implementation so far,
including The Daily Show's Jon Stewart in this March 23 clip at
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/full-episodes/aoti6l/march-23--2015---ayaan-hirsi-ali

Have comments about this article?  Please post them at
http://www.govexec.com/defense/2015/03/more-vets-will-be-eligible-non-va-care-th
rough-choice-program/108283/?oref=govexec_today_pm_nl#disqus_thread

 

SOURCE:  GovExec.com article at
http://www.govexec.com/defense/2015/03/more-vets-will-be-eligible-non-va-care-th
rough-choice-program/108283/?oref=govexec_today_pm_nl

 

 

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[MILRETVET-INFO] Twice as Many Vets Will Now Be Eligible for Non-VA Care

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