On August 7, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Choice Act), calling for VA to implement the Veterans Choice Program. The Veterans Choice Program is one of the ways VA is improving access to care for Veterans. It allows eligible Veterans to receive care from non-VA facilities, connecting them to timely and convenient access to health care, instead of waiting for a VA appointment or traveling long distances to a VA facility. Veterans who live more than 40 miles away from a VA medical facility or have an excessive travel burden are eligible.
VA’s goal will always be to provide Veterans with timely, high-quality care. Even if you choose to receive care from a non-VA facility, you can still take advantage of the many VA resources available to you.
Veterans may have been exposed to a range of environmental and chemical hazards during military service including sand, dust, and particulates; burn pits; infectious diseases; and other hazards. VA offers several programs and resources related to military exposure concerns for non-VA providers and Veterans that are not receiving care through VA’s health care system. The following are a few examples of resources that you can share with your non-VA health care provider.
If you have concerns related to military exposures that you would like to discuss with your non-VA provider, you can refer them to Exposure Ed, a new mobile app launched by VA to help health care providers better address Veterans’ questions about the health effects of military exposures and exposure-related benefits and services. The app is available for free download from the Apple iTunes store, and will be available for Android devices later in 2015. To learn more about the app, visit mobile.va.gov/app/exposure-ed.
