{"id":72574,"date":"2025-05-20T13:31:46","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T13:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/05\/20\/va-drops-secondary-review-rule-for-community-care-medical-appointments\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:56:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:56:41","slug":"va-drops-secondary-review-rule-for-community-care-medical-appointments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2025\/05\/20\/va-drops-secondary-review-rule-for-community-care-medical-appointments\/","title":{"rendered":"VA drops secondary review rule for community care medical appointments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/05\/19\/congressional-appropriators-criticize-vas-unapproved-funding-moves\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/05\/19\/congressional-appropriators-criticize-vas-unapproved-funding-moves\/\">Veterans Affairs leaders<\/a> on Monday announced plans to eliminate secondary reviews for patients seeking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2024\/12\/03\/bill-would-push-va-to-expand-outside-medical-care-options-for-vets\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2024\/12\/03\/bill-would-push-va-to-expand-outside-medical-care-options-for-vets\/\">health care consults outside of the department\u2019s medical centers<\/a>, a move that could dramatically speed up the time for booking those appointments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2024\/12\/17\/congress-finalizes-sweeping-bill-to-help-veteran-caregivers\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2024\/12\/17\/congress-finalizes-sweeping-bill-to-help-veteran-caregivers\/\">mandated by Congress last fall<\/a> as a way to simplify VA\u2019s community care procedures, which allow veterans to use taxpayer dollars to receive private medical care. About 40% of all medical appointments paid for by the department are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/01\/13\/new-senate-vet-affairs-chair-plans-focus-on-care-access-mental-health\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/01\/13\/new-senate-vet-affairs-chair-plans-focus-on-care-access-mental-health\/\">conducted by private-sector doctors<\/a>, a number that has risen steadily over the last decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But some veterans advocates have expressed concerns that as more patients \u2014 and federal funding \u2014 leave the VA health care system, the changes could weaken the department\u2019s medical centers by leaving them with fewer resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2018\/04\/11\/vets-groups-and-lawmakers-say-theyre-against-it-but-what-does-privatization-of-veterans-affairs-really-mean\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"215\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_13102205629.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Vets groups and lawmakers say they\u2019re against it \u2014 but what does \u2018privatization\u2019 of Veterans Affairs really mean?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The term will command much of the debate at the new VA secretary&#039;s confirmation hearing, but different groups have different definitions.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In contrast, President Donald Trump has been a vocal proponent of increasing medical care choices for veterans, pushing for expanded community care options during his first and current terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement, VA Secretary Doug Collins said implementing the congressional mandate is \u201cmaking it even easier for veterans to get their health care when and where it\u2019s most convenient for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins and conservative lawmakers have criticized President Joe Biden\u2019s administration for adding extra layers of bureaucracy to the community care program, complicating access even as the number of appointments continued to grow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVeterans should always have access to the best health care that meets their individual needs \u2014 whether that\u2019s inside or outside VA \u2014 and without a paperwork nightmare to make that happen,\u201d House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., said in a statement following Monday\u2019s announcement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democratic lawmakers backed the change in community care rules last fall, when it was passed into law as part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2024\/12\/17\/congress-finalizes-sweeping-bill-to-help-veteran-caregivers\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2024\/12\/17\/congress-finalizes-sweeping-bill-to-help-veteran-caregivers\/\">Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee ranking member Mark Takano, D-Calif., called VA\u2019s announcement Monday \u201caccomplishing the bare minimum\u201d since the move had already been ordered by Congress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee ranking member Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., accused the administration of \u201ctrying to take a victory lap for finally implementing a provision \u2026 they were required by law to put in place more than a month ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA leaders said the change is effective immediately. Since 2019, veterans ruled eligible for community care appointments have been able to work with referring clinicians to find outside care, but those decisions were not considered final until they were reviewed by a second VA doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans can qualify for community care eligibility if they live more than 30 minutes away from a VA health care facility or if their nearby clinic has a wait time of more than 20 days for primary care services or 28 days for speciality care. Current rules also provide several other exceptions for eligibility. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congress last year passed legislation designed to simplify the process for veterans seeking medical help outside the VA health care system. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":74345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,7,23,12,25,67,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3226],"class_list":["post-72574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-education-transition","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"7BMQ7LZFGNFORE6YVVXMPKAWXA","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2025\/05\/20\/va-drops-secondary-review-rule-for-community-care-medical-appointments\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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