Care Within the Veterans Health System
Care within Veterans Health
The Veterans Affairs (VHA) is America’s largest integrated healthcare system, providing healthcare services to over 9.2 million enrolled veterans and their families. This network consists of hospitals, clinics and outpatient facilities located throughout America.
Patients in VHA health facilities do not pay any premiums, deductibles or copayments for their care; however they may need to make a payment when seeking non-VA services. The amount of this payment varies depending on what service is provided and its associated cost.
Over the last decade, the VA has made significant improvements to its healthcare delivery system. These include creating a more patient-centric model of care and creating programs to assist veterans with mental illness or substance use issues.
Most veterans receive primary care from the VA, but some opt to see other healthcare providers outside of its system. These organizations often provide more comprehensive or less costly services than what VHA can provide.
Furthermore, many Veterans rely on private insurance for most of their medical needs. This may result in high out-of-pocket expenses.
In 2014, lawmakers passed the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act that created the Veterans Choice Program. This initiative allows veterans who have been unable to reach a VA health facility due to distance or other reasons to receive medical services from private-sector providers outside the VHA system.
Since passage of the law, more than 2 million veterans have received care in the community and VA is working toward meeting its goal of offering community care for all veterans who cannot get an appointment at a VHA facility within 30 days or less.
Although wait times for care have improved, many veterans still face difficulty getting timely appointments. In some cases, veterans are told they must wait longer than what they can afford because they depend on private-sector providers for their care.
Some of these issues could be due to VHA’s lack of central oversight over scheduling procedures. As a result, VA offices cannot guarantee they are adhering to all federal scheduling guidelines.
It is essential for the VA to have effective processes in place so veterans receive timely care. To accomplish this, all staff members should receive training on meeting scheduling standards.
One of the major difficulties is that VA health centers often do not have enough physicians to meet demand for care, particularly in rural areas.
In addition to more resources and staff training, VA must also foster a culture of patient-centered care that emphasizes the significance of relationships between clinicians and patients. Doing this will guarantee that VA patients receive high quality care and have positive experiences with their healthcare providers.
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