VA’s ‘Choice’ program for health care has gotten off to a slow start

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Far fewer veterans than expected are taking advantage of a new law aimed at making it easier for them to get private health care and avoid the long waits that have plagued Department of Veterans Affairs facilities nationwide.

Only 27,000 veterans have made appointments for private medical care since the VA started mailing out “Choice Cards” in November, the VA said in a report to Congress this month. The number is so small, compared with the 8.6 million cards that have been mailed out, that VA Secretary Robert McDonald wants authority to redirect some of the $10 billion Congress allocated for the program to boost care for veterans at the VA’s 970 hospitals and clinics.

Republicans and Democrats insist the problem is the department and that it needs to do a better job promoting the choice program. They also want to change a quirk in the law that makes it hard for some veterans in rural areas to prove they live at least 40 miles from a VA health site.

The government measures the distance as the crow flies, rather than by driving miles, leaving thousands of veterans ineligible.

“Veterans put their lives on the line to defend this country. The very least we can do is ensure they don’t have to jump through hoops to receive the care they need and have earned,” said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., whose vast state has just one VA hospital.

The law, signed by President Barack Obama in August, allows veterans who have waited more than 30 days for an appointment to get VA-paid care from a local doctor. It also allows veterans who live at least 40 miles from a VA hospital or clinic to get private care and makes it easier to fire VA employees accused of wrongdoing.

The choice program expands an existing program that allows veterans to get outside care for emergencies or procedures not available at the VA.