3 Ways We Can Help Veterans Get the Quality Care They Deserve in Their Own Communities
My plan to fix the VA Choice Program for Wisconsin’s veterans
The VA Choice Program was supposed to help veterans receive timely and quality care in their own communities, outside of VA facilities.
But since it’s beginning, I’ve heard from veterans across Wisconsin who’ve encountered confusing billing practices, infuriating scheduling practices and poor customer service when they’ve tried to go through this in-community veterans care program.
Multiple veterans have told me about instances where they thought they were scheduled for a surgery, only to show up for their procedure and be turned away at the door because the surgery date was never communicated to the surgeon. A basic scheduling mishap that is more than frustrating — it’s completely unacceptable.
And there are many more stories like this. Routinely, just to get an appointment with a doctor scheduled through the Choice Program, our veterans have to reach out to their members of Congress.
Our veterans deserve better. When they want care in their own communities through the VA Choice Program, they should be able to expect the high quality service they have earned and deserve.
With so many Wisconsin veterans sharing their stories and frustrations with me, it’s become clear that the VA Choice Program is not working as well as it needs to for them. Here is my plan to fix it:
The entire point of the VA Choice program is to allow our veterans to access quality and timely care in their own communities. That isn’t happening on a basic level, and a big reason for that is bureaucratic red tape that frustrates both patients and providers.
Let’s cut that red tape. The bipartisan Veterans Choice Program Improvement Act would help do that by removing the middleman and allowing the VA to become the primary payer in the VA Choice Program.
This bipartisan reform, authored by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, would reduce veterans’ out-of-pocket expenses and aligning the Choice Program with the VA’s other community care programs.
By working across party lines, we’re moving forward with this reform to improve the sharing of medical records between the VA and community providers. This will bring better coordination into the system and connect our veterans to care in a timelier manner.
And not only does this reduce confusion and costs for veterans, it will address the providers’ frustrations, ultimately bringing them back into the Choice Program, which means even greater access to care for veterans in more communities across the country.
Many of the complaints I hear about VA Choice Program stem from the issues in dealing with a very large VA contractor — HealthNet. I’ve heard from too many veterans who’ve been shortchanged with confusing care, so it’s time to increase oversight and accountability of VA contractors like HealthNet.
Story after story from our veterans who are let down by VA contractors illustrate that we must be vigilant and hold the companies contracting with the VA accountable to our veterans. The VA Performance Accountability and Contractor Transparency (PACT) Act aims to do that.
The PACT Act, from Senators Tester, Michael Bennet (D-CO), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Patty Murray (D-WA) and I, would make the details of VA contracts over $100 million public and require the companies being contracted to report their progress to Congress. This will apply to the VA HealthNet contract, as well as other major VA contracts.
To increase transparency, this reform will require VA contracts to include a plan of action and milestones, along with measurable metrics tracking cost, schedule & services rendered.
To increase accountability, this reform will allow the Secretary of the VA to penalize contractors if their performance does not meet the standards that have been plainly laid out.
Our veterans have sacrificed so much for our country — they shouldn’t have to sacrifice in their health care because of contractors who aren’t being held to account.
Cutting red tape and holding contractors accountable is necessary, but we also need to get to the heart of the matter — scheduling care in veteran’s own communities is too difficult and downright confusing.
To further illustrate just how difficult scheduling an appointment is through the VA Choice Program, the largest health care provider in rural northern Wisconsin, Aspirus Health Care, opted to no longer accept Veterans Choice referrals because of the constant mishaps.
A change needs to happen, and it needs to happen immediately.
I recently wrote to VA Secretary David Shulkin, calling on him to make it an immediate priority to shift scheduling duties away from HealthNet to local Wisconsin VA Medical Centers.
Delays in HealthNet’s appointment scheduling and their inability to process timely payments are at the top of complaints I hear from veterans and providers. For the last two years, I have worked with veterans and VA staff to address concerns with access to timely care through the Choice Program… While the VA works to modify its contract with HealthNet, I urge you to allow Wisconsin VAMC staff to begin scheduling appointments for veterans participating in the Choice Program as soon as possible.
I’ve spoken with staff at Wisconsin’s VA Medical Centers and they expressed a strong desire to take on scheduling to ensure the veteran patients they personally know and care for are served well. Let’s make that happen.
As I continue to push for these reforms to fix the VA Choice Program, I’ll be looking for feedback and insight from more of our veterans and their families.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter and Facebook or sign up for my newsletter. If you or anyone you know ever needs assistance in navigating the VA care system, please reach out to my office here.
