A U.S. GAO report found that the VA’s VCCP program contractors have been filing incomplete performance reports, leading the department to falsely assume the contractors are meeting program standards for prompt medical care for veterans. (Photo: APK)
A Nov. 10 U.S. Government Accountability Office investigation found “potential challenges [for veterans] with scheduling appointments” with Veterans Community Care program providers.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Community Care Program, or VCCP, ensures that non-VA medical care providers offer “timely, high-quality care” to veterans unable to visit VA medical facilities. This includes prompt scheduling defined as within 30 days of first contact.
Two contractors handle five regions outlined by the VCCP: Optum Serve manages the regions to the east; TriWest Healthcare Alliance manages the western region and Alaska. Veterans in rural communities throughout the United States are the primary beneficiaries of the program.
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s most recent investigation, the two VCCP contractors are supplying the VA with incomplete patient case data leading the VA to incorrectly conclude that the contractors have been meeting program standards. As much as 50 percent of appointments scheduled after 30 days from the point of contact were omitted in performance reports presented to the VA on the grounds that veterans had no preference for appointment dates.
As part of the investigation, the GAO also conducted a series of 80 undercover calls to VCCP providers throughout the continental United States and found several compounding issues.
Most notably, there aren’t enough VCCP providers to meet appointment demand promptly and the VA lacks sufficient staff to schedule appointments with existing providers. Additionally, the VA’s provider directory includes outdated contact information for many providers, including many that are no longer part of the program.
The types of care most impacted by scheduling delays included dental care, specialty care, and mental health care. All types of care were impacted by delays.
The investigation findings do not include specific findings on which areas are most impacted by scheduling delays.
The full GAO report can be read here.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.