The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday that any consideration of blending VA and U.S. Department of Defense health care programs would not endanger VA's network of clinics and hospitals.
“This has nothing to do with VA health care delivery system reform,” James Hutton, deputy assistant secretary for VA public and intergovernmental affairs, said in an email.
The Associated Press reported Friday that VA and the Pentagon are exploring the possibility of merging their health care systems and that veterans advocacy groups feared a merger could threaten the viability of VA medical facilities.
Active-duty military personnel see private medical providers who are paid by the Defense Department medical insurance plan known as TRICARE. VA operates more than 1,200 medical facilities for military veterans – including a medical center and an outpatient clinic in Fort Wayne – and its Veterans Choice Program pays for private care providers if veterans live more than 40 miles away from a VA clinic or have to wait at least 30 days for an appointment with a VA physician.
“We are simply exploring in preliminary terms the general concept of partnering between the VA and DoD health care systems to provide better care for Veterans at lower costs to taxpayers,” Hutton said in his email.
“One example is looking at ways to partner by sharing provider networks and, potentially, services like credentialing and claims processing,” he said.
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