While access to healthcare is difficult for anybody in a rural area, it’s a particularly pronounced problem for veterans, who tend to be older and more likely to be disabled than their neighbors. According to data from the 2015 census, roughly one in four veterans live in rural areas, compared to one in five adults of the general population, making their problems particularly pronounced. I recently read an article about this exact same issue. While work helping rural veterans with healthcare has been lacking, that’s starting to change, with the VA working to develop models through pilot programs and spread them across the country.
The general lack of doctors and hospitals in rural areas is particularly bad for any veterans who rely on the VA. While the VA has been setting up more community-based clinics, and the Obama administration has created a program, “Choice”, to address the problem by letting non-VA clinicians serve rural veterans and receive reimbursements, the problem remains. Many rural veterans rely on a combination of VA health insurance and other forms of insurance, such as Medicaid and Medicare. Following the Affordable Care Act, a growing number of veterans have enrolled in Medicaid.
The VA Office of Rural Health has offered $2 million to the Volunteers of America North Louisiana program, which shuttles rural veterans to and from their doctor appointments. It uses paid drivers, picks up veterans at home, and transports them in wheelchairs. The Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors also received a $2 million grant, which they used to help coordinators travel to local health departments and spread the word about services available to veterans and teach health workers how to find veterans in need of help. In the process, they created a statewide network that was able to refer roughly 600 veterans to services in and out of the VA.
Telehealth, which uses real-time video technology to provide healthcare services, is another method that the VA has been using. It reduces hospital admissions by 35 percent, and saves patients thousands each year. The VA has purchased a telehealth van equipped with communications equipment and broadband internet, expanding the reach of healthcare access.
As veterans have served our country, it’s refreshing to see efforts being made to give them access to the healthcare that they both need and deserve. The Office of Rural Health is still evaluating the results of these different programs, and will be reporting to Congress later this year on its findings.