In 2018, when President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan VA MISSION Act, it was a promise to America’s veterans that what happened at the Phoenix VA Health Care System — where veterans were dying while waiting for their healthcare appointments — would never happen again. I think about those families who lost their veteran loved ones because they couldn’t get their earned care fast enough, and how the pain they felt should not happen in America.
The VA Community Care Program has rightfully unleashed a public-private partnership between VA and local health care providers to expand veterans’ access to care, whether it’s because VA can’t provide the care fast enough, or to meet the veterans’ individual needs. It’s that simple.
From 2022 to 2023, about 40% of all VA healthcare was community care. Veterans are satisfied with the care they receive. Community-based…
