V E TE R AN S AFFAI R S & M I LITARY M E D I CI N E O UTLO O K
THE VA AIMS TO ENHANCE SPECIALTY CARE FOR VETERANS By Charles Dervarics
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that took effect in June 2019. Among other provisions, the law set new guidelines for how veterans can see specialists outside the VA system. Under the act, a veteran can seek private-sector care if he or she must wait more than 28 days for a VA appointment or drive more than 60 miles to a VA facility. The agency says this policy may mean 1.5 million veterans will gain access to private care, up from 560,000 under previous department choice initiatives. So far, VA leaders say the law has produced gains for specialty care. “Ninety percent of the increase in consultations going out to the community are in specialty care,” Richard Stone, MD, administrator of the Veterans Health Administration, told a Capitol
President Donald Trump signed the MISSION Act in 2018. Its provisions – including changes in how veterans access specialty care – went into effect in June 2019.
Hill audience in February 2020. With these options now more readily available, he said, “It appears veterans have improved access to specialty care.” However, there is still ample evidence – despite the new flexibility – that many veterans prefer to use VA facilities and staff for their specialty care. “The MISSION Act has afforded the veterans the opportunity to receive speedier care,” said Terrence Hayes, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). “However, our members’ preference remains the VA medical
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n IN EUREKA, MONTANA, NEAR THE Canadian border, a telehealth initiative brings together a veteran with a physician five hours away. In Pittsburgh, a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) oncologist conducts video visits with patients 100 miles to the east, coordinating care with a technician who helps ease patients into this new approach. And across the country, veterans have flexibility to see specialists outside VA thanks to a new law with provisions on everything from telemedicine to increased patient choice. These are among many new developments to enhance specialty care for veterans, particularly those living in less-populated areas and those who face more complex challenges or deal with new challenges as they age. Spanning more than 20 disciplines, VA’s specialty care includes cardiology, critical care, dermatology, diabetes, eye care, infectious disease, neurology, nutrition, and oncology, and other areas described in full at www. patientcare.va.gov/specialtycare.asp. With many new activities underway, one common thread across these initiatives is the goal “to ensure that veterans are spending their time getting care instead of driving to it,” said Lesly Roose, a program manager at the VA’s Office of Connected Care. VA specialty care is changing under the MISSION Act, the comprehensive legislation signed into law in 2018
