The Disabled Veterans National Foundation (www.dvnf.org), a non-profit veterans service organization that focuses on helping men and women who serve and return home wounded or sick after defending our safety and our freedom, is offering its support to the Department of Veterans Affairs' new initiative to expand healthcare services to veterans.
The Patient-Centered Community Care (PCCC) initiative will allow the VA to expand healthcare services to veterans whose access to treatment is made difficult due to geographic location or limited capacity. PCCC will allow VA medical centers to purchase non-VA healthcare among contracted health providers.
According to a release from the VA, the breadth of care will range from "inpatient specialty care, outpatient specialty care, mental health care, limited emergency care, and limited newborn care for enrolled female Veterans following the birth of a child."
The VA has contracted two major healthcare companies to perform these services throughout the entire country, consisting of six different regions.
"This is a big step by the VA, and shows the VA's commitment to expanding its reach to veterans who aren't always able to access a VA medical center," said Precilla Wilkewitz, President of DVNF. "We share this commitment to making certain that location or disabilities will not hinder veterans from getting the care that they need."
The estimated $9.4 billion in total PCCC contracts was given to Health Net Federal Services LLC and TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp. The contracts were for one base year, with four-year options. The VA expects these services to be operational by the spring of 2014.
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