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VA offers new urgent care benefit for enrolled veterans

July 24, 2019

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced a new urgent care benefit for eligible veterans under the newly implemented Mission Act. The urgent care benefit lets veterans enrolled with VA Healthcare to visit participating urgent care clinics in their community for treatment of minor healthcare needs.

“We want to be the preferred healthcare provider for veterans, and we will continue to strive to provide convenient, timely and high-quality healthcare to our veterans. The new urgent care benefits offer additional options for eligible veterans and help VA leverage healthcare resources to better meet the needs of veterans,” said Director Vince Kane, who oversees the Wilmington VA Medical Center and its five outpatient clinics in Delaware and southern New Jersey.

The urgent care benefit is available for eligible veterans to use at any time, with any participating provider throughout the country – an excellent benefit for those who may be traveling over the summer months. Veterans do not need to receive VA authorization prior to visiting a participating urgent care provider, nor do they have to make a copayment at the time of their visit. Some veterans may experience a VA copay after their urgent care visit based on their assigned priority group and the number of times they visit an in-network urgent care provider in a calendar year.

Medications prescribed to veterans during their urgent care visit are covered for up to a 14-day supply through a VA pharmacy, VA-contracted pharmacy or non-contracted pharmacy. Prescriptions longer than a 14-day supply must be submitted to a VA pharmacy to be filled. If a non-contracted pharmacy is used, the veteran will have to pay out of pocket and file a reimbursement through their local VA.

To be eligible for urgent care benefits, veterans must be enrolled in the VA healthcare system and have received care through the VA from either a VA or community provider within the past 24 months. To learn more about VA urgent care benefits, contact a local VA facility or go to www.va.gov/communitycare.

Veterans can check eligibility status by calling the Wilmington VA Medical Center eligibility office at 800-461-8262.

For more information for veterans who need assistance in enrolling in VA healthcare, contact a veteran specialist at 302-357-8715 or 302-932-7519.

 

To see a comprehensive list of participating urgent care community providers, go to www.va.gov/find-locations.

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