Va Choice Cards

[Berta]

About the Program

Many Veterans will now have the option to receive non-VA health care rather than waiting for a VA appointment or traveling to a VA facility.

Beginning November 5, 2014, the new Choice Program will begin to cover non-VA care for eligible Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare. Veterans are eligible if any of these situations apply to you:

You have been told by your local VA medical facility that you will need to wait more than 30 days from your preferred date or the date medically determined by your physician

Your current residence is more than 40 miles from the closest VA health care facility

You need to travel by plane or boat to the VA medical facility closest to your home

You face a geographic challenge, such as extensive distances around water or other geologic formations, such as mountains, which presents a significant travel hardship

More info at:

http://www.va.gov/opa/choiceact/

[Tom12]

Does a VA Outpatient Clinic disqualify a person from using this Card?

[Chuck75]

Does a VA Outpatient Clinic disqualify a person from using this Card?

Any VA medical facility within "40 miles" does, (sort of) even if the facility cannot provide the needed medical services.

Getting the exceptions applied is currently a problem. The infamous "catch 22" applies.

[Pete53]

I got the choice card. It is worthless to me except to hang it over my useless PA's head to insist on appointments.I live 24 miles from VA

[Buck52]

I don't know why the VA sends out those c-cards to us vets that don't qualify ? seems like a waist of time...but like mention maybe we might qualify ''someday'' only thing is some of us vets are running out of time for that ''someday''

Edited January 5, 2015 by Buck52

[ArNG11]

Not that I am defending the VA ploy. There are more qualifiers to be able to get this card, like waiting more than 30 days to see a provider. However, much like anything else, programs have to go through there bumps. What I am finding so far is that the program is so new no one really knows all the details. Hell my own VA PCP team didn't know about it. But they didn't know about or acknowledge the fee based system either. I wonder if third party billing would work better. Or hell maybe the VA can pay my private insurance premiums and co pays since they can't give me timely care or acknowledge my conditions. Hmm.

[john999]

So far no card. I am using fee base already but no card. Well, typical.