“The Department of Veterans Affairs lacks clear standards for how long veterans can expect to wait for an appointment with a community care provider.”
“For some members of Congress, a lack of clear wait time metrics calls into question the point of VA’s community care program, as veterans can’t easily compare how long they’ll expect to wait for health services at the department versus the private sector.”
“According to VA internal data from October 2019 through June 2020, veterans waited an average of 41.9 days for an appointment in the community, starting from the time he or she requested the appointment to the time the meeting occurred, Julia Brownley (D-Calf.), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee, said during a hearing Wednesday.”
“The Government Accountability Office found VA’s own bureaucratic referral and scheduling process eats up roughly half of that time.”
“Under the MISSION Act, which Congress passed into law back in 2018, veterans can see a community provider if they’ve been waiting for more than 20 days for primary and mental health care and 28 days for specialty care, or if they face a 30-minute drive to the nearest VA facility.”
“Congress and VA designed those standards for the department’s own care with the intent that veterans, in some cases, could receive care more quickly in the community. But VA’s own data shows that may not be the case…” Read the full article here.
Source: Without clear standards, veterans are in the dark on community care wait times – By Nicole Ogrysko, October 1, 2020. Federal News Network.
