Dive Brief:
- The Department of Veterans Affairs announced this week it is immediately expanding eligibility for patients to obtain care from outside the VA health system, which has been under extreme scrutiny over issues including long patient wait times.
- The rules of the Veterans Choice Program now make it easier for patients to get a referral to an outside provider due to “undue burdens” such as distance, severe medical conditions, or the need to make frequent visits for treatment such as chemotherapy.
- Among the changes, referrals are now allowed for veterans who lack a VA facility within 40 miles that has a primary-care doctor on staff, and for any veterans who would have to travel via air, boat or ferry to reach a facility.
Dive Insight:
The program was initiated last year but failed to gain traction, officials say, because it was too restrictive.
“As we implement the Veterans Choice Program, we are learning from our stakeholders what works and what needs to be refined,” VA Secretary Bob McDonald said in a prepared statement. “It is our goal to do all [w]hat we can to remove barriers that separate veterans from the care they deserve.”
This week's changes actually mark the second revision to the program's rules. Earlier this year, the VA changed its definition for the 40-mile distance requirement. Initially, it measured the distance from a veteran's home to a VA facility “as the crow flies,” but changed policy to measure to the actual driving distance a veteran would face to reach a VA medical facility.
Before the Choice program, veterans were only authorized to go outside the system for emergencies or services VA didn't offer.