Has anybody been successfully treated through the VA Choice Progam?

2015-04-17T14:35:51-04:00

Today, I received a phone call from the VA Medical Center which provides most of my treatment. I had a appointment scheduled for early next month and the doctor is now unavailable with the next available appointment in July. I live roughly 40 miles away from a few VA facilities.
The POC suggested I call VA's Choice Program, after waiting two weeks to allow the system to process the requirement, to coordinate an appointment with a local doctor who would be paid through the VA. Then I need to call the POC back and cancel the July appointment.
Right now I receive all of my medical care free through the VA Medical Center system.
I am curious to see if anybody else has gone through this program and what the results were including out of pocket payments.

Response by SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT made Apr 17 at 2015 7:32 PM

2015-04-17T19:32:46-04:00

The VA system is broke and needs a complete overhaul top down.
The Choice card is an example of the government wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on a do nothing program. they claim as correcting VAs backload problems by issuing out "Choice" cards to make sure veterans are seen in a timely manner.

in order to use my card I have to have prior VA approval.

I have used the VA fee based which sends me to the local hospital for specialized treatment

Response by SPC Bill Smith made Apr 19 at 2015 1:21 PM

2015-04-19T13:21:53-04:00

I called the program and they told me that I live within the 40 mile limit by way of the crows flight. I actually live more than 50 miles from the nearest VA med center. Talk about a load of crap! I have been asking for the right care for over 5 years now and was so happy to see this choice card come along but once I get my hopes squashed! So as far as I'm concerned, until they get their crap figured out, I don't want anything to do with them! I have to go and pay for care out of my own pocket just to get the right care! How fair is that to anyone that put their life on the line. I know that I'm just one person that gets treated like this and it breaks my heart to see those that are much worse then me to get the same treatment!

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Apr 28 at 2015 9:50 AM

2015-04-28T09:50:01-04:00

Update, VA formal communication process can be demoralizing. On April 23 I received a card informing me that my dermatology appointment was scheduled for May 1 per original schedule. I checked the MyHealtheVet website and the appointment was listed. I figured the doctors schedule was rearranged and I wouldn't need to go through the VA Choice Program. I started making plans to drive to the appointment this Friday, etc. On a hunch, I checked the MyHealtheVet website this morning and learned that my appointment had been cancelled and rescheduled for July IAW my phone conversation 11 days ago.
To put it mildly, I was frustrated at the update process which took weeks to post an appointment [after it had been cancelled] and then cancel it several days later. I am thankful for the VA POC who called me and informed me to wait 10 working days before contacting the VA Choice Program. I now realize that 10 working days is probably the standard administrative lead time between data entry and system ready to accept updates. I don't know what that full lead time will be for me to see a doctor; but, I expect it will be more than 10 days.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Apr 30 at 2015 4:31 PM

2015-04-30T16:31:11-04:00

4/30/15 Sit Rep: Per instructions, this afternoon I called the VA Choice Program and was registered into the system. I provided verifying info and then went through the registration process - I was interested that the Choice program had my old address [AKO, MilConnect, VA, etc had already been updated last year. I was told it would take 14 days to get my new card - appointments require VA confirmation.
After confirming that I had appointment well beyond 30 days which justified use of the Choice Program, dermatology was confirmed and I gave a basic description of issues. After selecting a doctor who is in their network and explaining what time of day was best for me, I was told it would take 5 days for the information to be processed. After that I would be called by a Choice Program rep to coordinate an appointment.
I am hopeful that this process will provide quality care, copies of my records, and prescriptions through the VAMC network - my usual source.
Sgt Richard Buckner, PO2 William Allen Crowder, SPC Bill Smith, SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT

Response by LTC Stephen F. made May 19 at 2015 6:09 PM

2015-05-19T18:09:36-04:00

5/19/15 Sit Rep: This afternoon I called the VA Choice Program and learned that today [20 days after it was submitted by VA Choice Program to VA] the VA Choice Program had received approval for my case to go forward to schedule an appointment. I hoped I could do it then. I was told that an inter office email would be sent to whomever was required to schedule an appointment. I was told that if I did not hear from them within a week to call back.
Good news is that I did receive the promised temporary VA Choice Program card within the 14 days.
I hope I will be able to schedule an appointment within the next couple of weeks.
Sgt Richard Buckner, PO2 William Allen Crowder, SPC Bill Smith, SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT

Response by LTC Stephen F. made May 27 at 2015 2:31 PM

2015-05-27T14:31:46-04:00

05-27-2015 Sit Rep. Today I called the VA Choice Program and now have a my first scheduled dermatology appointment next Wednesday June 3. It has taken since April 30 for the VA Choice Program process to fully engage for me. I was told that I am authorized up to six appointments and that biopsy and results are included in covered services. The contracted doctors interact with VA Choice Program not with the VA Medical services side. Therefore I will need to coordinate with the dermatologist to get copies of the diagnosis, biopsy results, etc over to the VA. I plan on testing the MyHealtheVet system to add the Dermatologist to the network for sharing information to my VA doctors. I plan on updating this question thread with the results of my system tests as they occur.
Sgt Richard Buckner, PO2 William Allen Crowder, SPC Bill Smith, SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jun 3 at 2015 9:24 PM

2015-06-03T21:24:23-04:00

06-03-2015 Sit Rep. Today I went to the dermatology appointment approved by VA and coordinated by the VA Choice Program. When I checked in I learned that my paperwork had not been sent over yet -despite being approved weeks ago. The Dr office called VA Choice and I spoke with the VA Choice Program POC and made sure they understood I expected them to meet the requirement - they gave a phone approval. I learned that another vet came 1 month earlier and had to pay the full cost because VA Choice did not approve it.
My appointment went well, I got prescriptions for a year for my dermatology meds. I also got another appointment for a whole body exam - expect includes burning off problem areas, biopsy if necessary.
The Doctors office is required to send my diagnosis results, etc to VA Choice program. I provided the fax number to my VA primary care physician so that she has copies of the doctors results.
Sgt Richard Buckner, PO2 William Allen Crowder, SPC Bill Smith, SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jun 11 at 2015 3:29 PM

2015-06-11T15:29:19-04:00

Yesterday morning I went to my 2nd dermatology appointment arranged through the VA Choice Program. The dermatology doctor and staff are pleasant and professional. Today I had about 10 areas of Actinic Keratosis frozen on my legs and neck and then a suspected basal cell carcinoma shaved off with a biopsy taken from my upper left arm. Over the years I have probably had 50 Actinic Keratosis areas frozen off me. The stinging pain is a refreshing change from the drudgery of my more constant back and post-herpetic neuralgia pains. The biopsy results are expected back within 2 weeks. I am tired but thankful. I prayed for wisdom and eyes to see for the doctor and am confident that God answered yes in this case.
On my second appointment, the in-processing worked very well. Hopefully this is positive sign that the VA.
[2015-06-13 edit - Updated 6 to 10 frozen areas based on casual count] Sgt Richard Buckner, SPC Private RallyPoint Member, SGT Rick Ash, PO2 William Allen Crowder,