VA Mission Act ► A Glimpse Inside VA’s Major Overhaul
The VA MISSION Act is the most massive comprehensive health care reform bill and was signed into law by President Donald Trump on 6 JUN. VA has quietly begun working on implementing these major changes but recognizes it can't do so without veterans' help. VA wants to know what questions veterans have about the VA MISSION Act as VA moves forward in rolling out these huge health system changes. While MOAA and other veteran service organizations (VSO) have started working with VA to implement the legislation, veterans are central to making the transformation smooth and in helping the department meet the very tight deadline mandated by Congress.
One of the most significant changes veterans will see in the next few months is the elimination of the Veterans Choice Program, established in 2014, to provide temporary relief and help VA rebuild internal capacity to reduce long wait times for veterans seeking health care. A new, streamlined community care program will replace Choice and consolidate multiple community care programs currently managed by VA into a single program. A few other major changes veterans can expect to see are:
Congress gave VA one year from the enactment of the MISSION Act to replace the Choice Program and two years to implement the caregiver program expansion. Last week, VA provided a little peek it is working toward to combine and implement the new community care program and walk-in care services over the next year.
VA needs you to send them your questions about the VA MISSION Act that you want. To help get you started, here are a couple questions we think veterans will want to know:
Now, what questions are on your mind? You are requested to send your questions to legis@moaa.org and MOAA will share your questions with VA as well any communication and marketing materials as they become available.
Source: Excerpted from The MOAA Newsletter, Rene Campos, August 16, 2018
Yours in service,
Chuck Weber |