VA (or civilian) Medical care while traveling out of state

franco-bolli · January 29, 2022

I live within 20 miles of the nearest VA hospital, and have had good experiences with them so far.

In late spring, I'll be travelling from SW Idaho to Key West Florida and have wondered, what is the right process to get medical care, should I need it along the way?

Accidents happen, and alot of times not within driving distances of a VA Hospital.

DO I just call the VA 800 number or is there a community care number or ???
Should I call them before I go in, or while I'm on the way, or afterward?

Thanks for your responses!

travelinbob · January 29, 2022

I have been using the VA for 17 years now and I am well pleased. I also have Humana Medicare Advantage but I choose the VA for my complete healthcare. I'm 30 minutes from the Albuquerque VA but I have also used the VA in Loma LInda, Ca when we wintered in SoCa. I'm also registered with the VA in Tucson.

If you choose the VA, it's best to register in the one or ones you plan to use. Hope this helps.

franco-bolli · January 29, 2022

Bob,
Thanks for the note.

I'm not eligble for Medicare coverage for at least 2 more years. I'm at a 30% rating so, according to the note I received from the VA, I can have all of my medical needs covered through the VA except dental.

I know there were stipulations saying that only a select few locations in the local commuinity were able to provide medical (quick care) to me otherwise I needed to go to the main VA hosp.

In the unlikely event I need medical service during the trip out of state, I was hoping to get some feedback from others in my same situation about how to get the services outside of my local VA jurisdiction.

Twotoes · January 29, 2022

Go or call your local VA Hospital and ask them. I believe for emergency care you can go anywhere.

Kirk W · January 29, 2022

The following comes from the VA internet site.

Quote

Veterans can continue their VA health care in a different location while traveling. ... Most VA medical centers have a Traveling Veteran Coordinator. To notify VA of your upcoming travel, call your local VA facility and ask for your VA Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT).

bigjim · January 30, 2022

I am currently "registered" at 2 VA hospital/clinics. Albq. and Memphis. You need to have one location in one VA "system" where you will have a "primary care team". It won't work to have a primary care DR at more than one. They have a program for traveling veterans with TV Coordinator. Currently the one in Abq. seems to be totally ineffective. I have had multiple surgerys at Memphis and need a new hip now. It requires an interagency consult request to Ortho in Memphis from Albq. has been nothing but a roadblock. They want me to have it there but I have a daughter trhat is a nurse and other family support in Memphis. I spoke with 2 TV coordinators at Memphis that have tried to help but they can not even get a response from the one in Albq. I have contacted a patient advocate in Albq and got a second response from him yesterday and it looks like we may have some movement to resolve my problem. I will hopefully get some good news sometime Mon. or Tue. If not I may be contacting a congressman or senator. It i was looking for care related to more basic care I understand my primary could put in a consult request. I think some places this might work but other not so much or at all. Worst case scenario just go to the VA emergency. At some they also act as part of the walk in and some hospitals have a walk in clinic. This program is a great idea but at present there seems to be a problem and someone needs to resolve it. I have found that the different VA systems do not play well together. There have always been problems in the VA healthcare sytem and some are just outright stupid. I have had good care at the VA but at times they can be a test for you mental health. I really hope you can make this work for you but be prepared.

Edited January 30, 2022 by bigjim

franco-bolli · January 30, 2022

Great information!

I'll be on the phone with the VA on Monday to ask about the VA Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT).

Thanks for sharing your experiences and doing a little research for me!
Cheers

FB

franco-bolli · January 31, 2022

I visited the local VA hosp and asked about treatment for any ailments while traveling. I was told to contact the VA central phone number and tell them I was travelling and where I had been treated. I'm referring to emergency types of treatment, not standard health related issues being treated at the home VA.

The person I spoke with hadn't heard of PACT, but said that with my rating, getting treatment for emergencies would be covered. He did say that I may need to follow up with the VA to be sure that the bill is actually paid if I were to get a bill.

What I didn't ask but should have is, what if I'm in Bumtruck Oklahoma and need to be airlifted to a hospital, is that covered. I imagine mercy flight expense is on me....

Kirk W · February 1, 2022

36 minutes ago, franco-bolli said:

The person I spoke with hadn't heard of PACT,

That is interesting. I went to the PACT internet site thinking that there might be help there, but........ wrong! They do make reference to the My Healthy Vet site and I assume that you do have one? I use mine quite often. You may want to contact your primary care physician on the site to ask about travel issues.

bigjim · February 1, 2022

Most vets that use it VA regularly probably access with myhealthevet and have the blue button option. Sometimes there can be so much information unless you are somewhat sophisticated in searching you can't find the information you need. You can at least communicate directly with your Primary care team and other clinics that you use. It creates a trail that can be useful but what if you don't have access to the internet? Mostly I do now unless I am in an area with no signal or are not near my laptop. I used to only be able to check at the library or if I had computer access some other way.

I am finding that the traveling vet program is not functioning properly for who knows why and I can't find anyway yet to get someone with authority to deal with it. I am worn out fighting it but I feel like for the sake of myself in the future and other vets that may need it I have to pursue it to make it function properly or just do away with it and use the money some other way. I may in the near future try to get a congressman or senators staff involved. My experience regarding this is limited to the Memphis VA and the Albq. VA. The Memphis VA coordinators tried pretty good to help but my roadblock seems to be at the Albq. VA. They have to do there part first. There may be a good reason but with no communication I have no way to know.

I hope any others that have insight will post it to help us all understand and sort this out.

bigjim · February 5, 2022

Update. I got a call from one of the ortho surgeons from Albq. He went to the trouble himself as it seems no one else could figure it out. The bad part is both VA's are not doing surgeries that are not absolutely necessary for at least the near term. He said to check back starting in a month or so but then I have to start the process again. In all of this the communication of what is happening was very poor overall. Kudos to the surgeon in particular and the Traveling vet coordinators at Memphis tried pretty hard. Someone needs to work on this program to make it work IMO.