WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a draft decision for criteria Feb. 1 in the Federal Register to be used by VA’s Secretary to develop recommendations for the future of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) health care.
The criteria are based on specific factors outlined in the VA MISSION Act of 2018 (MISSION Act), which gives Veterans greater access to health care in VA facilities and the community, and input received through collaboration with stakeholders, including Veterans and Veterans Service Organizations.
The criteria includes the following categories: Veterans’ need for care and services; accessibility of care for veterans; impact on mission; providing the highest quality whole health care; effective use of resources; and ensuring a safe environment of care.
In accordance with the MISSION Act, VA is conducting market assessments for each of VA’s markets to design high-performing networks of care. The networks will consist of a more flexible platform that can provide quality, readily accessible, cost-effective care through VHA and leverage the best of care provided by federal partners, academic affiliates and other private sector providers. Recommendations from the assessments will be finalized utilizing the approved criteria and submitted by VA’s Secretary to the presidentially appointed Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission for their consideration in January 2022.
“VA health care is the backstop to the United States’ health care system and must be strengthened to provide quality care that can be sustained into the future,” said Acting VA Secretary Dat Tran. “We want to hear from Veterans and all our stakeholders on the draft decision criteria as the beginning of a broader conversation about how VA can best meet Veterans’ health care needs for generations to come.”
In addition to analyzing public comments, VA is hosting virtual listening sessions in the coming months. The feedback will be used to provide recommendations for creating networks of care to be reviewed by the AIR Commission, President Biden and Congress.
View the draft decision criteria and make comments at the Federal Register webpage. The public comment period ends 90 days after Feb. 1.
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Reporters and media outlets with questions or comments should contact the Office of Media Relations at vapublicaffairs@va.gov
Veterans with questions about their health care and benefits (including GI Bill). Questions, updates and documents can be submitted online.
Veterans can also use our chatbot to get information about VA benefits and services. The chatbot won’t connect you with a person, but it can show you where to go on VA.gov to find answers to some common questions.
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