Many veterans who have to drive more than 40 miles to reach a full-service Veterans Health Administration hospital may now get care at private medical facilities at government expense. The option is also available for eligible patients who cannot get an appointment at the VA within 30 days. But so far, not many Vermont vets are taking advantage of this new rule.
The new Choice Program comes in response to long waiting lists at many VA hospitals nationwide. The White River Junction hospital, which has some of the shortest waiting lists in the country, has notified 27,000 patients that they may choose private care. But only about 300 veterans from Vermont have used those Choice cards since the law went into effect last August. Business Office Manager Camille Olmstead isn't sure why so few have opted out of the VA, but she has a hunch.
"My personal feeling is that most of the veterans are pretty satisfied with the care they are receiving," said Olmstead.
She says White River Junction patients may want to keep the doctors they have. Also, she notes, waiting times in private medical centers may be longer than they are at the VA. Plus, the White River Junction staff has expanded.
The new law funneled $10 billion into the nation's VA medical system to improve access to care. Over the next two years, the White River Junction facility will get about $6 million of those dollars, and director Amdur has already started spending that money on new employees.
"My personal feeling is that most of the veterans are pretty satisfied with the care they are receiving." - Camille Olmstead, VA Business Office Manager
"We're very pleased to have this funding to add a second neurologist to our staff and we have added some additional primary care providers. We have added and are in the process of adding additional mental health staff at the community based outpatient clinics, so all of these things together, I think, really help continue to enhance our access," Amdur said.
Amdur is also hiring care coordinators to make sure that any veterans who do see providers in the private sector will be able to smoothly integrate that care with other services they still get from the VA.
"It's very important when you have different health care systems, different providers providing care for a single individual, that you have a good system to coordinate that care well," she explained.
Veterans who want to exercise choice will find a toll-free number at the VA website. To be eligible for this new option, they must have enrolled in the VA medical system as of Aug. 1, or be a combat veteran discharged within the last five years. In three states, the mileage rule is more lenient than in Vermont, where Choice cards are available only to veterans who live more than 40 miles from White River Junction.
Veterans who want to exercise choice will find a toll-free number at the VA website. To be eligible for this new option, they must have enrolled in the VA medical system as of Aug. 1, or be a combat veteran discharged within the last five years.
VA Hospital Business Office Manager Camille Olmstead says that explains why more choice cards are being used in New Hampshire than in Vermont.
"New Hampshire, Hawaii and Alaska do not have full-service VA facilities within their state borders," Olmstead said. "Those states have a 20-mile ruling."
She says that means almost every veteran in New Hampshire may choose a private provider. Still, many cross the river for appointments in White River Junction.
