Darin Selnick, a retired Air Force Captain and former senior advisor to the secretary of veterans affairs under President Trump, said the VA was not following the law when it didn't provide care for veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Expect a wave of veterans to use the VA. So that wave, that 19.7 million, never needed to happen. Community care, although ... shut down partially for a couple months at the height of COVID, was fully open." Community care is when the "VA provides care to Veterans through community providers when VA cannot provide the care needed," according to the Veterans Affairs website.
The VA, according to Selnick, "Was telling veterans, 'No, it's not clinically appropriate, we're not going to let you - we're not gonna follow the law, we're not gonna let you do what you need to do to go get care. Instead, we're going to delay your care.'" Meanwhile, Selnick "Was able to see a community dermatologist two and a half weeks from the date of request at the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, in Oceanside, Calif.," he said.
The 2018 law established a new community care program for eligible veterans through non-VA healthcare providers that requires the VA to ensure that medical appointments through those providers are scheduled in a timely manner and there is no lapse in care due to VA errors or delays.
That's a problem because veterans need to be able to get the care - find the care that they need and they're not getting it.
"VA remains committed to ensuring Veterans are receiving the care that they need, in the manner and location that is best for the Veteran, especially as services become more available as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"In the months of March and April, we saw substantial growth in both VA services as well as in our community networks, signaling that VA is able to meet the needs of Veterans as they feel more comfortable seeking health care. Veterans are returning to VA for care at the highest levels since the onset of the pandemic and we are providing them a variety of options for where and how to receive their care - in VA or community care based on MISSION Act criteria and in person or using telehealth when appropriate."Additionally, VA continues to report average wait time data on the Access to Care website.
Saturday, June 26, 2021
New VA crisis? Ex-official sounds alarm on long wait times, backlog of 20 million appointments
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