VA to change 40-mile rule for Veterans Choice program

[douglas9]

The Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday announced plans to relax the agency’s rule on how far patients must live from the nearest VA medical center before the government pays for treatment at a closer private facility.

Under the original guidelines, veterans had to reside at least 40 miles in a straight shot, or as the crow flies, from the nearest VA clinic. The new guideline will instead measure the distance in driving miles, as calculated by commercial mapping services such as Google Maps and Mapquest.

The revision comes after widespread complaints that the department’s eligibility requirements were too strict and kept thousands of former troops from qualifying for Veterans Choice, a program that allows former troops to obtain health care from private providers if they live far from a VA medical center or waited more than 30 days for treatment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/03/24/va-to-change-40-mile-rule-for-veterans-choice-program/

[CurtEastPoint]

1. John Oliver shamed them to death last week over this. I wonder if that prodded them.

[chknltl]

2. This may explain why my travel pay changed twice

For the past couple of years I used to collect about 28$ for scheduled trips to the VA hospital at American Lake Wa. (I live a half hours drive away). Then a couple months ago they changed things around, sending me a check instead for $10 per trip. Last week I got a call from the VA. This time they mapped out my trip on the actual roads I travel and informed me that my new pay would be just short of $20. I suppose someone figured it unwise for me to drive in a straight line between my house and the VA Hospital at American Lake with Joint Base Lewis/McChord directly in my way. I'm thinking base security wouldn't see the wisdom of my driving on their reservation either.