Veterans frustrated with Choices Program

The frustration in the room was palpable as Mineral County veterans expressed their concerns about the Veteran’s Choice Program, implemented in 2015. Representatives from Senator Jon Tester’s office were in Superior Friday to listen to what local vets had to say about the program. The vets, along with medical administrators, told stories of long wait times to get in contact with people to schedule appointments; their inability to get medical appointments scheduled and of bills not paid.

These are issues that staff from Tester’s office hear over and over again as they canvas Montana to hear about veteran’s experiences with the system. In theory, the Choice Program was put into place to provide veterans with the ability to receive medical care in the community if the Veterans Administration could not schedule an appointment within 30 days of the Veteran’s preferred date, the date determined medically necessary by their provider, or if the veteran lives more than 40 miles from their closest VA medical facility.

The Veterans Administration contracted with third-party, privately owned, Health Net Federal Services and TriWest Healthcare Alliance to do the scheduling and billing. These companies have offices all over the country, and vets said that they usually talk to someone in New York or Texas, to try and get an appointment here in Montana.

Todd Dunlap, with the Helena Veterans Administration, said this is part of the problem. Because laws associated with this program may work back east, but they don’t work for rural areas like those found in Montana. One problem facing rural areas is that there is a lack of doctors available to provide care, and that most doctors within the network are more than 40 miles away from Mineral County residents.

Dunlap said that basically there are two programs, and two “pots of money”. If veterans ‘opt-out’ of the Health Net program, they stay in the Veterans Administration’s network and scheduling, and billing is handled by the VA. If veterans sign up with Health Net, then once a veteran needs to schedule an appointment, or has to deal with billing, veterans need to work through Health Net because the VA is no longer involved with the process.

This is where there seems to be a ‘bottle-neck’ because Health Net isn’t working. Veterans, when they finally do get ahold of someone to talk to, are told that their appointment will be made and they’ll get a call back with the time and date. But, they never receive a call back, and often times need to start the process all over again. Medical facilities are frustrated, including the Mineral Community Hospital, because they don’t receive payments for services provided to the veterans.

The VA and Tester’s office are aware of the problems and they want veterans to know that help is available. Contact information is available online at: http://www.montana.va.gov/contact/phone_directory.asp. Also, the Missoula VA comes to Superior on the fourth Monday of every month to help vets navigate the healthcare system. They have an office at Mineral Community Hospital and are there from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Their next visit will be on Feb. 22. Also, the Mobile Vet Clinic will be at the MCH every Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Mobile Vet Clinic is primarily set up for counseling, but they can help answer questions about the healthcare network.