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VA Adds Primary Care Services to Contract Program for Veterans' Health
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has added primary care to a list of contracted medical services that can be provided at non-VA facilities as part of the Veterans Health Administration's Patient-Centered Community Care program. The program allows physicians outside the VA to provide specific types of care for eligible veterans when local VA facilities are unable to do so because of geographical inaccessibility or limited capacity. Before the announcement, care provided through the program had been restricted to inpatient and outpatient specialty care, mental health services, limited emergency care, and limited newborn care for women. The VA's announcement is the latest in a series of actions taken in response to reports that veterans were unable to schedule appointments or faced long wait times to see physicians at VA facilities. The resulting Veterans Choice, Access and Accountability Act provides funding to allow the VA to hire more physicians and makes it easier...