Spending Christmas in Vietnam

BLAKE HYFIELD

VA Announces Access Standards for Health Care

The Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced in late January its proposed access standards for community care and urgent care provisions that will take effect in June and guide when veterans can seek care to meet their needs under the MISSION Act – be it with VA or with community providers. Under the MISSION Act, signed by President Trump in June 2018, there are six different eligibility criteria for community care: Services unavailable, residence in a state without a full-service VA medical facility, 40-mile legacy/grandfathered from the Choice program, access standards, best medical interest, needing care from a VA medical service line that VA determines is not providing care that complies with VA’s standards for quality

Access Standards. VA is proposing new access standards, effective when the final regulations publish (expected in June 2019) to ensure veterans have greater choice in receiving care. Eligibility criteria and final standards as follows were based on VA’s analysis of all of the best practices both in government and in the private sector and tailored to the needs of our Veteran patients:

• Access standards will be based on average drive time and appointment wait times.

• For primary care, mental health, and non-institutional extended care services, VA is proposing a 30-minute average drive time standard.

• For specialty care, VA is proposing a 60-minute average drive time standard.

• VA is proposing appointment wait-time standards of 20 days for primary care, mental health care, and non-institutional extended care services, and 28 days for specialty care from the date of request with certain exceptions.

Eligible veterans who cannot access care within those standards would be able to choose between eligible community providers and care at a VA medical facility.

Urgent Care. Eligible veterans will have access to urgent (walk-in) care that gives them the choice to receive certain services when and where they need it. To access this new benefit, veterans will select a provider in VA’s community care network and may be charged a copayment.

VA encourages the public to comment on the proposed access standards and urgent care benefit during the public comment period once these proposed regulations (RIN 2900-AQ46 and RIN 2900-AQ47, respectively) publish in the Federal Register.

Note: Average drive times in the greater LA area can vary daily, depending on traffic.  For those vets in the La Crescenta area receiving care at the VA in Sepulveda, average drive time would be right at the 30 minute standard. 

This article taken from the VA website.

Blake Hyfield is the post service officer for the local VFW and American Legion posts. He can be reached at bhpegleg@yahoo.com.

  Blake HYFIELD