Friday, February 22nd, Veterans Affairs began taking comments on the new rule changes that are aimed to expand care for veterans to include local physicians and specialists.  The new healthcare plan would allow veterans that have to travel more than 30 minutes or have a wait time more than 20 days for an appointment at a VA hospital would be allowed to see their local physician.  Veterans in need of a specialist that would have to travel more than 60 minutes or have a wait time of more than 28 days would be allowed to seek a specialist locally.

One of the most noticeable differences from previous plans is that distances will be measured in the length of time it takes to VA facilities rather than mileage.  Changing the distance to the amount of time it would take to drive to a VA hospital allows for both rural and urban areas to take advantage of the changes.

This seems to be great news for veterans that are currently waiting 120 or more days to see a physician, but there has been no clarity on the difference in cost patients would have to pay for the convenience.

Members of Congress are concerned that the rules have not had enough discussion and were solely decided upon by Veterans Affair’s Secretary Wilkie, a loophole that was unintentionally created with in the VA Mission Act.  Congress members have also showed concern over the cost of such a plan, but according to Secretary Wilkie, “With VA’s new access standards, the future of the VA health care system will lie in the hands of veterans – exactly where it should be,” and boasted that the new plan would “revolutionize VA health care as we know it.”

Read the proposed plan HERE.

Comment on the proposed plan HERE.