Senate passes bill that allows veterans to seek medical care outside VA system Nation Jun 12, 2014 10:40 AM EDT WASHINGTON — After two overwhelming votes in two days, members of Congress say they are confident they can agree on a bill to improve veterans’ health care and send it to the president’s desk by the end of the month.
Full Answer
Can VA doctors send patients outside the system on their own?
· Senate passes bill that allows veterans to seek medical care outside VA system Nation Jun 12, 2014 10:40 AM EDT WASHINGTON — After two overwhelming votes in two days, members of Congress say they...
What did the VA say about Wolfe’s medical needs?
· 9 Responses. The Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday changed its interpretation of a law after months of criticism from Congress and veterans groups, making it easier for veterans to get ...
What happens when a veteran is approved for care outside the VA?
· Reform bill would enable vets to get treatment outside the VA By Martin Matishak - 06/03/14 08:19 PM EDT 6 © Greg Nash Senate Republicans on Tuesday said they would offer legislation to allow...
What happened when the VA stopped authorizing treatment?
· Vet Affairs keeping vets from using health care outside its system Opinion Veterans Affairs bureaucrats are keeping vets from using health care outside its troubled system By John Byrnes December...
Can the VA refuse to treat a veteran?
You can agree to or refuse any treatment. You will be told what is likely to happen to you if you refuse a treatment. Refusing a treatment will not affect your rights to future care but you take responsibility for the impact this decision may have on your health.
Why do veterans not like the VA?
Of the veteran and active service members who reported to the annual Wounded Warrior Project Survey that they have never used VA health care services, the most common reasons given included preferring to use other health care coverage and too much trouble or red tape....CharacteristicPercentage of respondents--9 more rows•Mar 10, 2022
What does the VA mission Act do?
The MISSION Act sought to provide greater access to health care both in VA facilities and in the community, expand benefits for caregivers, and improve the VA's ability to recruit and retain the best medical providers.
Which branch of the federal government is responsible for oversight of the healthcare of veterans and the VA?
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country.
What's wrong with the VA?
While the VA is rooted in noble intentions, it has been plagued with problems for years. The VA has faced reports of excessive and contradictory spending, allegations of inadequate health care, a massive backlog of benefits claims and a top leadership position that nobody can seem to hold down.
Can you lose VA health care?
If you're in one of the lower priority groups, you could lose your VA health care benefits in the future. If you don't keep your private insurance, this would leave you without health coverage.
Are veterans happy with the VA?
In October 2019, a survey from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) found that 82 percent of veterans are satisfied with the agency's healthcare offerings, including care access.
Who authored the VA MISSION Act?
Tester wrote the VA MISSION Act with Republican Chairman Johnny Isakson of Georgia and President Trump signed it into law June 6.
What percentage of veterans use VA health care?
Under current policy, about 60 percent of U.S. veterans are eligible for VA care, based on length of service, service-connected injuries, service in designated combat theaters, and income. Fewer than half of eligible veterans use VA health benefits.
Which President made this pledge to veterans?
President Abraham LincolnPresident Abraham Lincoln made a pledge "to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan" to Civil War Veterans during his second inaugural address in 1865.
Does the government take care of veterans?
The federal government has a generally unquestioned obligation to provide health care to veterans for diseases or disabilities acquired during military service.
Who oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs?
Honorable Denis Richard McDonoughThe Honorable Denis Richard McDonough was nominated by President Biden to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Mr. McDonough's nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 8th, 2021, and he was sworn in the following day as the 11th Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Who created the Veterans Choice Program?
The program was created through the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act, a bipartisan bill that was signed by President Barack Obama. The Veterans Choice Program allows some veterans who experience difficulty obtaining care from a Veterans Affairs medical facility to seek care elsewhere. To qualify, veterans must be enrolled in the VA ...
Does Trump allow veterans to seek outside care?
A: No, but Trump has continued a program that allows some veterans to seek outside care.
Do veterans get copayments?
Some veterans could have copayments under the VA system — determined by financial assessments — and are still responsible for those payments under the choice program, according to the VA.
Does Trump have executive orders for veterans?
Trump also has used executive orders to advance veterans-specific policies, including one aimed at increasing accountability at the VA and adding protections for whistleblowers. Another extends mental health coverage to all veterans during the first-year transition back to civilian life. Update, July 6: On June 6, ...
Is Veterans Choice free?
In 2017, Trump signed a bill that eliminated the program’s expiration date and twice signed legislation (in August and December) that authorized funding to keep the program afloat. The Veterans Choice Program doesn’t necessarily guarantee everything is free, either.
Has Trump used his signature to address veterans issues?
That’s not to say that Trump hasn’t used his signature to address veterans’ issues. The president has continued the Veterans Choice Program, a program started in 2014 following a scandal over wait times at Veterans Affairs facilities. The program was created through the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act, ...
Can a VA veteran go to a private provider?
For example, it allows a veteran to go to a private provider if the “covered veteran and the covered veteran’s referring clinician agree that furnishing care and services through a non- Department entity or provider would be in the best medical interest of the covered veteran.”
How far away from a VA facility can you get care?
These rules will replace the more rigid distance rule under Choice that veterans must reside more than 40 miles from a VA facility with a primary-care provider. The VA estimates that this change alone will make 20 percent more veterans eligible for outside primary care, and 31 percent more veterans eligible for network specialty care, than under current community-care programs, including Choice.
What is the VA's concern about the new access standards?
1 concern about the new access standards, he added, is whether the VA's budgets will be large enough to cover the significant jump in community-based medical costs expected from expanding access, ensuring that VA hospitals and clinics don't see their budgets get squeezed.
What are the key questions that the DAV needs answered?
Key questions the DAV needs answered, said Reese, are whether the access rules are fully funded, are realistic and feasible to implement. One great unknown, he said, is whether VA-funded community provider networks will be sufficiently staffed to deliver faster, more convenient and quality care to veterans.
What is the urgency care regulation?
The urgent care regulation emphasizes that the new benefit is not to be used by veterans needing treatment for chronic conditions, which should continue to be managed through their primary-care providers. But the community-care access rules are drawing the most attention from veterans groups and members of the Veterans Affairs Committees.
Can you walk into a VA emergency care clinic?
Veterans enrolled in VA health care and needing treatment for a sore throat, a sprained ankle or some other episodic or temporary health need will be able to walk into participating urgent care clinics rather than visit VA emergency care clinics or hospitals or schedule an appointment with their primary-care provider.
How long does a veteran have to wait to get VA care?
Choice allows community-based care if veterans face waits for VA appointments longer than 30 days. The new standard will make them eligible to use the private sector if waits for VA appointments are longer than 20 days for primary care, ...
What are the new VA access standards?
The new access standards will be based on factors generally familiar to veterans who sought private-sector care under Choice: average drive time to get VA care and wait times to get VA appointments. But a VA spokesman said the new access screens "are based on an in-depth analysis of all of the access best practices in both government and private-sector health care systems and tailored to the needs of our veteran patients."
How long can a veteran wait to see a VA doctor?
Rules established under the law and published Wednesday in the Federal Register say the VA will pay for veterans to see non-VA doctors if they have to wait longer than 20 days or drive more than 30 minutes for primary or mental healthcare at a VA facility.
When was the Choice program created?
The agency previously provided outside medical care under seven different programs, including the so-called Choice program, which was created in 2014 after veterans died waiting for appointments at the Phoenix VA. The new law combined those into a single, new program with expanded eligibility criteria.
Can you go to a VA urgent care clinic without approval?
The rules going into effect Thursday also allow veterans to go to non-VA urgent care clinics at VA expense without prior approval, though they may have to pay a co-payment. Trump signed the law last June, known as the VA MISSION Act, but its key provisions didn’t take effect until now.
