Veterans’ Affairs Committee senators\u00a0are wrestling with legislation to reform the Veterans Choice program with the hope of unveiling an agreement in the coming days to fix the troubled health benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate Democrats\u00a0led by Jon Tester of Montana introduced a bill, S\u00a02633, on March 3 to consolidate\u00a0a number of VA\u00a0community care health programs under a single Veterans Choice umbrella\u00a0and change\u00a0the contracting process that uses third-party administrators to manage the program’s scheduling and billing processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr and fellow Republicans have sponsored the Veterans Choice Improvement Act, S\u00a02646, which also would consolidate veterans community care programs and reform the payment processes\u00a0but includes other provisions, such as\u00a0stringent requirements on reimbursement rates and a mandate that\u00a0VA provide\u00a0compensation to veterans within 90 days of determining that the former service member\u00a0has a presumptive health condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burr said Tuesday his legislation would make it easier for veterans to understand their health care options and receive treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citing a North Carolina veteran who waited more than a year to see a spine specialist and was told after the first appointment that he couldn’t make a\u00a0second appointment because the physician had\u00a0stopped accepting Choice for nonpayment, Burr said VA, Congress and the White House must “fix this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We must get it right for our veterans. \u2026 In North Carolina, we have seen hospitals stop taking\u00a0veterans under the Choice program because VA has consistently\u00a0failed to pay veterans,” Burr said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The $10 billion Veterans Choice program was created by Congress in 2014 in response to a scandal over long wait times for appointments\u00a0at VA health facilities. It allows\u00a0veterans to see private health care providers if they cannot get an appointment at a VA hospital or clinic within 30 days or live\u00a0more than 40 miles from a VA facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But nearly from its inception, veterans across the country reported problems with Veterans Choice, to include\u00a0not having access to it\u00a0even though they qualified\u00a0for the program,\u00a0challenges finding providers who understood\u00a0the program,\u00a0difficulties making\u00a0appointments for follow-up care or being dropped by doctors, and most recently, credit problems tied to the delays in payments to providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
VA in November asked Congress for legislative changes that would let it consolidate at least eight of VA’s community care programs into a single Veterans Choice program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawmakers have since been working with VA to draft legislation and with the White House to fast-track the final bill through the legislative process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Johnny Isakson said Tuesday he hopes an omnibus bill, which will include Choice reform, will be signed by Memorial Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Our goal is to have an omnibus bill \u2026\u00a0 to let our veterans know we do want accountability at the VA, we do want Choice to work, we do want caregivers providing care to those injured before 9\/11, 2001, to have the same benefits as those afterward, and we are close to getting there,”\u00a0Isakson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
VA Secretary Bob McDonald said Tuesday that fixing Veterans Choice is a main priority for the department this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We’re as committed to giving veterans a high-performing organization as we are convinced we can get there, with your help,” McDonald said. “But\u00a0as I’ve testified, important priorities for transformational change require congressional action.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bills aim to fix payment issues\u00a0by allowing VA to contract with community providers on an individual basis rather than go through a third-party contract manager. Currently, VA contracts with\u00a0TriWest and Health Net Federal Services to manage the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legislation also would give VA greater flexibility in managing its community care dollars and make VA the primary payer for bills, ensuring “faster and more accurate payments” to providers, according to McDonald.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some veterans organizations said they support the legislative proposals but a spokesman for the Independent Budget\u00a0\u2014 a group of veterans organizations that craft policy and spending recommendations on veterans issues\u00a0\u2014 raised concerns that expansion of Veterans Choice could hurt funding of VA medical centers and clinics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Just outsourcing the care into the community, while it might seemingly improve access, runs the risk of undermining the larger health care system which many veterans, particularly those with catastrophic disabilities, rely upon,” said\u00a0Carl Blake, associate executive director of government relations for\u00a0Paralyzed Veterans of America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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