{"id":48362,"date":"2018-04-30T14:47:32","date_gmt":"2018-04-30T14:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/30\/vas-next-big-problem-key-health-care-program-is-running-out-of-money-again\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:59:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:59:52","slug":"vas-next-big-problem-key-health-care-program-is-running-out-of-money-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/04\/30\/vas-next-big-problem-key-health-care-program-is-running-out-of-money-again\/","title":{"rendered":"VA\u2019s next big problem: Key health care program is running out of money again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 As Veterans Affairs officials await news on the next possible pick to lead the department<\/a>, they\u2019re also sounding the alarm on the next challenge facing their agency: running out of money<\/a> for a controversial health care program in coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, in a letter to lawmakers, acting Department Secretary Robert Wilkie<\/a> said the VA Choice program is expected to run out of funding \u201cin approximately the first two weeks of June.\u201d Veterans participating in it will begin receiving letters early next month warning that the program could be shut down in early summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmerica\u2019s veterans need Congress to come together to support this crucial program and pass legislation that will make it permanent,\u201d Wilkie said in a press statement. \u201cThere is simply no denying how vital community providers are to VA\u2019s mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The timetable for the funding expiration isn\u2019t a surprise, since VA officials have been predicting they would run out of money in May or June since late 2017. But, since the firing of VA Secretary David Shulkin last month, the urgency of that timeline has largely been overshadowed by leadership controversies at the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\t