The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How new VA rules will affect health care
The move to shrink the medical corps within the armed forces is coinciding with efforts by the Trump administration to privatize care for veterans. In January, the Department of Veterans Affairs proposed rules that would allow more veterans to use private hospitals and clinics.
What is changing
Veterans who can prove they must drive for at least 30 minutes to a Department of Veterans Affairs facility will be allowed to seek primary care and mental health services outside the department’s system. Current law lets veterans use a private health care provider if they must travel 40 miles or more to a VA clinic.
Measuring commuting time rather than distance will greatly open the private sector to veterans in rural and high-traffic urban areas.
Current law lets veterans facing a wait of 30 days or more for an appointment at
their closest VA facility seek private care, but under the new policy, that would be reduced to 20 days, and with the goal of 14, by 2020. Veterans will also be allowed access to walk-in clinics; however, those will require copays for treatment after a third visit.
If seeking a specialist after the new policy takes effect, veterans must prove a drive of at least 60 minutes.
Taken together, the percentage of veterans eligible for what officials refer to as “community care” currently — roughly 8 percent of the 7 million treated annually — would rise to between 20 and 30 percent, according to Department of Veterans Affairs officials.
What both sides are saying
Supporters say the new policy will help veterans get faster and better care. But critics fear it will prompt the erosion of the largest integrated health care system in the country as billions of dollars are redirected to private care.
The goal of the new policy, officials say, is to provide veterans with easier, streamlined access to health care.
What’s next
The new rules are expected to go into effect in June.
‘This is the most transformative piece of legislation since the GI Bill. It gets us on the road to becoming a 21st-century health care institution.’ Robert L. Wilkie Secretary of Veterans Affairs