Lourdes Hospital announced recently that some military veterans might be able to receive care at their facilities in New York State through the Veterans Choice Program. As part of Ascension, the nation’s largest nonprofit healthcare system and the world’s largest Catholic health system, Lourdes joins 23 other states and the District of Columbia in sustaining and improving the health of individuals and our communities by serving as an official provider of Veteran Care outside the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Ascension has established a national provider registration with Health Net Federal Services, LLC — a federal contractor to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. As a Veterans Choice Program contractor, Health Net is designated by VA to implement the Veterans Choice Program and provide eligible veterans access to care in their community when the local VA facility cannot readily provide care. Now, U.S. veterans who face wait times in excess of 30 days at the VA or have to travel farther than 40 miles from their home may be eligible to receive care from doctors at any of Lourdes sites of care statewide.
“We are proud to partner with Health Net to provide veteran care in our community,” Kathy Connerton, president and CEO of Lourdes, said. “Our veterans deserve the best care we can offer. That’s not the sole responsibility of just the VA system – that’s the responsibility of all caregivers, whether government or private, for profit or nonprofit.”
The Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 established funding to pay for healthcare services provided to veterans by private healthcare providers. Through the partnership, Lourdes physicians and other caregivers are authorized to provide primary care, inpatient and outpatient specialty care, and mental health care for eligible veterans outside of VA.
Nearly 9 million veterans received the Veterans Choice Card. Use of the card is strictly voluntary; veterans who qualify for VA healthcare can continue to receive care at a VA medical facility as they have in the past. The program will end when the allocated funds of $10 billion are used or no later than Aug. 7, 2017.
Veterans can find more information on the Veterans Choice Program at http://www.va.gov/opa/choiceact/. They can also contact the Ascension National Veterans Call Center at 1-844-623-3003, for more information about Ascension and the care we provide or for assistance scheduling an appointment with a local Ascension provider who is participating in the Veterans Choice Program.
U.S. veterans, Lourdes’ patients and caregivers who are interested in learning more about the Veterans Choice Program are encouraged to visit www.ascension.org/veterans.
