Department of Veterans Affairs Wants to Move 'Billions' toward Private Healthcare: Report

The Department of Veterans Affairs is poised to move “billions of dollars” from the government-run healthcare system to private providers, marking what might be the largest change to vets’ medical care in decades, according to the New York Times. Proposed administration guidelines would make it easier for veterans to get medical care in private hospitals, and the government would foot these bills. There is also a proposed system of walk-in clinics that would be a “bridge” connecting V.A. emergency rooms and private doctors under the proposed guidelines. Veterans would have to cover co-pays for these walk-ins, per the Times. The system of veterans’ hospitals cares for 7 million patients per year, but has struggled to see patients promptly after an influx of Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans. While ramping up private care could result in shorter wait times and expanded choices, some experts and veterans advocates worry that it will divert money from the administration’s provision of specialized care, and potentially make costs skyrocket. A 2016 report commissioned by Congress determined that pushing more veterans toward private healthcare providers, potentially with unrestricted access, could total more than $100 billion annually, the newspaper notes.