{"id":54344,"date":"2019-02-27T20:58:44","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T20:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/27\/veterans-want-autonomy-in-health-care-choices\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:01:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:01:28","slug":"veterans-want-autonomy-in-health-care-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2019\/02\/27\/veterans-want-autonomy-in-health-care-choices\/","title":{"rendered":"Veterans want autonomy in health care choices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the last two years, following calls from almost 4 million veterans across the U.S., the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act was passed, the secretary of Veterans Affairs has been replaced and the Mission Act<\/a> was signed to enable veterans to have choice in their health care. All happened with bipartisan support and are intended to better the lives of former service members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not so fast. The irony is that while the president and Congress are committed to accomplishing a new vision for veterans, the practical reality is that VA staff members have not embraced the changes. VA staff seem to be reticent to the change that affords veterans a choice in their health care. Dr. Richard Stone, head of the Veterans Health Administration, stated that 90 percent of veterans choose to stay with the VA rather than to utilize community care. However, it is not a choice when, to date, the only consistency in the responses from the VA have been, \u201cNo,\u201d \u201cCan\u2019t\u201d or \u201cWon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t