Page 28 - Desert Oracle December 2021

• Why Quit Tobacco is offered every Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Building 90 SUDTP Clinic
• For questions on taking the first steps to quit smoking, please either reach out to your primary care
team or call 520-792-1540 ext. 1-2985

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY FOUNDATION FOIA REQUEST ON VA WAIT TIMES AND ACCESS TO
CARE

• In Sept. 2021, Americans for Prosperity Foundation filed a lawsuit to gain access to records pertaining to
wait times and community care through FOIA. Group claims VA is not letting Veterans go to community
care in compliance with MISSION Act.
• The organization also claims VA is inappropriately cancelling appointments, or not providing care to those
Veterans whose appointments were cancelled in the early stages of the pandemic for safety reasons.
• Both VA and the United States (U.S.) health care systems faced the worst pandemic our country has
experienced in over 100 years.
• VA has worked tirelessly to remain open throughout the pandemic to all necessary in-person care, and
years of preparation enabled an incredibly rapid pivot to provide Veterans with options for virtual care,
which could shape the future of care delivery.
o With VA’s ability to offer Veterans virtual care while safety precautions limited unnecessary risk
from in-person appointments, VA outpatient care only dropped by 8% in FY2020.
• Over the past several years, the total volume and percentage of VA Community Care has rapidly
increased. From fiscal year 2017 to FY 2020, the number of community care authorizations increased by
56%, and community care appointments now represent more than a third of all appointments VA provides
to Veterans.
• While cancelling or rescheduling appointments for routine care is always the last resort, this had to be
done at times to ensure that safe care could be provided to Veterans.
o Additionally, as was seen in the U.S. health care community, VA also saw many patients cancel
their own appointments due to personal concerns about COVID-19.
o All veterans with cancelled appointments had, and continue to have, access to care. They have
opportunities to shift their care to telephone care, to video appointments, or to reschedule in-
person care when safe and clinically appropriate in VA or if eligible, through the Veterans
Community Care Program (VCCP).
• VA’s goal is to ensure Veterans are aware of all their care options – including care within our VA facilities,
VA provided virtual care, or through community care when eligible.
• To learn more about how the VA has increased care under the MISSION Act and during the COVID-19
Pandemic, check out Acting Under Secretary for Health Dr. Steven Lieberman op-ed article in the Hill,
HERE

PROGRAM OF COMPREHENSIVE ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILY CAREGIVER EXPANSION

• Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers will provide an additional year for eligibility
and reassessment of certain participants.
• This extension applies to Veterans who were participating in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance
for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) before Oct.1, 2020, individuals who applied for PCAFC before Oct.1,
2020 and those who were accepted into the program after Oct.1, 2020.
• The extension will provide VA an additional year to conduct required reassessments of this cohort. To
learn more about the additional year of eligibility, click HERE.

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