VA to change 40-mile rule for Veterans Choice program [View all]

The Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday announced plans to relax the agency’s rule on how far patients must live from the nearest VA medical center before the government pays for treatment at a closer private facility.

Under the original guidelines, veterans had to reside at least 40 miles in a straight shot, or as the crow flies, from the nearest VA clinic. The new guideline will instead measure the distance in driving miles, as calculated by commercial mapping services such as Google Maps and Mapquest.

The revision comes after widespread complaints that the department’s eligibility requirements were too strict and kept thousands of former troops from qualifying for Veterans Choice, a program that allows former troops to obtain health care from private providers if they live far from a VA medical center or waited more than 30 days for treatment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/03/24/va-to-change-40-mile-rule-for-veterans-choice-program/