A More Complicated Picture of Veterans' Healthcare Outside the VA

BY TOM BURKE

In the last issue of the Veteran, I wrote about a piece of proposed legislation that would expand veterans’ access to healthcare outside the VA. This legislation, the Veterans Healthcare Freedom Act, purports to make it easier for veterans to obtain medical services from doctors in private practice by removing eligibility requirements for non-VA care.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) in December, has collected several co-sponsors. One is Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who has introduced a companion bill in the Senate that would enable veterans to make appointments with private-practice clinicians without the VA first determining the necessity of the medical care or if it could be performed at a nearby VA facility. This sounds very promising, but I feel the issue is more complicated than it may seem. I wrote in my previous column that “records indicated around 40 percent of care is now provided outside of VA,” but I received a letter from my good friend Patrick Welsh which made me reconsider that statement. After some discussion, I must conclude my research may have been a little flawed and that the 40 percent figure was high.

I was surprised to learn from Welsh that, in the Buffalo, N.Y., area where he lives, only around ten percent of cases are referred to community care as opposed to VA care.

I took his observations seriously, and after some further research, discovered that the 40 percent figure I cited was probably incorrect. After diving in a bit more, as always seems to be the case, context matters. Depending on your primary care doctor and other factors, how much care is handled by VA doctors versus private practice clinicians varies. I appreciate Pat Welsh bringing this to my attention.

Don’t forget, the biennial VVA Convention is fast approaching. From August 5-9 in New Orleans, the Convention delegates will have the chance to make decisions that will have a giant impact on VVA’s future as they debate and decide the details of VVA’s final path and our ongoing legacy.

I urge you to come to the National Convention to have your voice heard for this important moment, just as you have done so emphatically in the past.

Finally, I want to note with pleasure that the National Medal of Honor Museum has officially opened in Arlington, Texas. The museum honors “individuals who were ordinary people, that did extraordinary things.” It tells the stories of servicemembers who performed above and beyond anything that would have been expected of anyone in similar situations. There are 3,526 stories to tell, and the museum intends to tell them all.

This museum was conceived by Capt. Chris Cassidy, a retired Navy SEAL and NASA space shuttle commander. The museum opened to the public on March 25, on Medal of Honor Day. Cassidy said the museum is “a place where you learn about courage, commitment, sacrifice to others, [and] service over self.” The museum’s displays include a Vietnam War Dustoff helicopter. If you find yourself in Arlington, Texas, the National Medal of Honor Museum would be a good place to visit.

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