College of Public Health and Human Sciences

In response to concerns about Veterans’ access to Veterans Affairs (VA) health care services, Congress passed the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 (Choice), which broadened Veterans’ eligibility to receive health care delivered by non-VA community providers paid for by VA (ie, Community Care).1 Specifically, the Veterans Choice Program (VCP) allowed Veterans waiting longer than 30 days for specific services in VA, who lived >40 miles from a VA clinic, or who experienced specific hardships in accessing VA care, the option of receiving Community Care. To help implement VCP successfully, the VA established the Office of Community Care (OCC) in fiscal year (FY) 2015 to lead the coordination of Community Care expansion. This included reorganizing local departments at each VA facility to ensure that VA/Community Care referrals across systems occurred seamlessly.