Government and Regulations
The VA will now calculate driving distance when determining eligibility for the Veterans Choice Program. The previously announced rule went into effect April 24, 2015, and is expected to double the number of veterans who are eligible for the program. According to a VA news release, the VA is now sending letters to newly eligible veterans. Any veteran with questions about the program can call (866) 606-8198.
Responding to criticism of the Veterans Choice Program, the VA had previously announced that it would relax eligibility requirements. Previously, VA calculated mileage as a “straight-line distance between a Veteran’s residence and nearest VA medical facility,” but according to a VA blog post, mileage will now be calculated based on driving distance. According to the VA, the change will double the number of eligible veterans.
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Reaction to the change has been largely positive. “We are pleased that Secretary McDonald is responding directly to concerns voiced by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and other members of Congress to ensure those reforms are working for all veterans throughout the nation,” said Republican Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut in a joint statement. “This is a common-sense adjustment to a rule that has the potential to significantly impact the success of the Veterans Choice Program.”
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The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) also released a statement praising the change but demanding more changes in the program. “The VFW is glad the VA agreed to change the measurement to actual driving distances, but the VA and Congress must now eliminate the 40-mile bubble they placed around their medical facilities,” said VFW National Commander-in-Chief John W. Stroud. “If a local VA cannot meet someone’s medical requirements, then it is absurd to require any veteran to drive hundreds of miles to another VA that can.”
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“We realize that Congress had to fit this temporary ‘choice’ program within certain budgetary constraints, but common sense and fairness dictate that the distance criteria must be measured to a facility that can actually deliver the medical services the veteran is requesting,” Joseph A. Violante, Disabled American Veterans national legislative director said in a March 24, 2015, testimony before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
For more information on the Veterans Choice Program, visit http://www.va.gov/opa/choiceact.
