WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs is establishing priority access to health care for severely disabled veterans under new regulations recently announced.
"It is unacceptable to keep veterans with service-connected medical problems waiting for care,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. “These veterans are the very reason we exist, and everything we do should focus first on their needs."
The new regulation is being implemented in two phases. Under the first phase, which is being implemented immediately, VA will provide priority access to health care for veterans with service-connected disabilities rated 50 percent or greater. This new priority includes hospitalization and outpatient care for both service-connected and non-service-connected treatment. VA will continue to treat immediately any veteran needing emergency care.
In the second phase, which will be implemented next year, VA will provide priority access to other service-connected veterans for their service-connected conditions.
The number of veterans using VA's health care system has risen dramatically in recent years, increasing from 2.9 million in 1995 to a projected 4.4 million in 2002. An additional 600,000 veterans are projected to enroll in VA health care in 2003. Unable to absorb this increase, VA has more than 280,000 veterans on waiting lists to receive medical care.
Although VA operates more than 1,300 sites of care, including 163 hospitals and more than 800 outpatient clinics, the increase in veterans seeking care outstrips VA's capacity to treat them.
"VA provides the finest health care in the country, but if a veteran cannot see a doctor in a timely manner, then we have failed that veteran," said Principi.
“I will work to honor our commitment to veterans," he added. "But when it comes to non-emergency health care, we must give the priority to veterans with severe service-connected disabilities."
