VA Secretary Shulkin expects Choice funds will last until the end of 2017 [View all]

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https://www.navytimes.com/veterans/2017/09/27/shulkin-expects-choice-funds-will-last-until-the-end-of-2017/

VA Secretary Shulkin expects Choice funds will last until the end of 2017

By: Leo Shane III ?  11 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin on Wednesday pushed back against news reports that his department’s embattled Choice program may again run out of funds ahead of schedule, saying he is confident the money will last until the end of the year. But he also warned it won’t last much beyond that, underscoring the need for Congress to quickly take up legislation to overhaul the outside care program. “They only funded us for half a year,” Shulkin told reporters after a Senate hearing. “I’ve always said it’s essential that we get the Choice legislation done this legislative session, and that’s what we’re aiming for.”


Veterans groups for weeks have quietly worried that usage rates of the Choice program — which allows patients who face long wait times or significant travel to see private-sector doctors at VA’s expense — have outpaced department expectations. That has happened several times in the program’s three-year history, including earlier this summer. At the start of 2017, VA officials had expected to have a surplus of Choice funds available at the start of August. By June, they realized the available funds would be zeroed out by the end of the summer. The funding shortfall forced lawmakers to scramble together a $2.1 billion funding infusion to extend the program until the end of the year.

Throughout the summer, VA officials warned that allowing the Choice program to run out of money without a plan for reforms or a replacement initiative would disrupt care for thousands of veterans. They also implemented a host of restrictions on the program in an attempt to make the dwindling funding last longer. Shulkin said those restrictions have been lifted, and the VA officials are spending about $280 million a month on the Choice program. That pace should fund medical appointments through the end of the year, though Shulkin admitted projecting how fast the money gets spent has been a problem for VA.
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