All states and most counties or municipalities have a Veteran’s Service Officer or VSO. These VSOs are trained by the VA to provide veterans, their dependents, and their survivors with advice and assistance in obtaining the services and benefits for which they are eligible. They have the best interest of veterans at heart and seek to get them all that they are qualified to receive.
VSOs can give advice, answer questions, and provide education to individuals or groups on federal, state, and other benefits and services available to veterans and their families. They can assist in filing out the appropriate claims. They can put veterans and their families in touch with the appropriate agencies to provide the help they may need.
Our purpose is to serve those who sacrificed to serve their country and fellow citizens. Please contact us with your questions and concerns. We are here to help.
HERE IS INFORMATION ON THE NEW MISSION ACT AND HOW IT AFFECTS VA HEALTHCARE:
The first thing to understand about the Mission Act is that eligible veterans must be enrolled through an annual patient enrollment system which will categorize each veteran into priority groups. Eligible veterans are those who served in the active military and separated under any conditions other than dishonorable. Reserve or National Guard veterans may qualify if they served for 24 continuous months or the full period for which they were called to active duty. If you wish to enroll in VA Healthcare or check to see if you qualify for it, please contact the Mini-Cassia Veterans’ Service Office at 208-678-3599 and talk to the Veteran Service Officer. For more information on VA Healthcare eligibility, check out the link below. It will try to get you to apply online for healthcare; however, it will be easier if you utilize the Veteran Service Office to help you with the paperwork and proofs that you will need to have submitted on your behalf. https://explore.va.gov/health-care
The second item of the Mission Act is community care eligibility. This means: when can veterans access healthcare in the communities in which they live. The VA lists six criteria veterans need to meet in order to access this community care: 1. The care you need is not available at any VA facility; 2. You live in a state or territory where there is no full-service VA medical facility; 3. If you were enrolled in the CHOICE Program and were allowed to access community healthcare because you lived more than 40 miles from a VA facility, the VA will continue to honor this commitment; 4. The care you need is not available within the designated access standards; 5. You and your referring practitioner decide it is in your best interests to receive your care in your community; 6. The VA designates the VA service line providing your treatment is not up to VA standards for quality.
This is all a little confusing. The aspects that will most likely affect you as an eligible veteran is if you were previously enrolled in the CHOICE Program and live over 40 miles from a VA medical facility and if you and your VA practitioner determine it will be best for you to receive your medical treatment in your community.
The third aspect of the Mission Act is Urgent Care. Eligible veterans now have the ability to go to urgent care or walk-in care facilities for illnesses or injuries that require more immediate care. The VA does not intend for veterans to go wherever they wish to go for this type of treatment. As with their community care, the VA has developed a “Care Community” of practitioners who meet VA standards of care. For Mini-Cassia residents the Urgent Care facilities approved by the VA are Sterling Urgent Care at 1404 Pomerelle Avenue and Riverview Urgent Care and Medical Center at 382 Overland Avenue. Both are in Burley. If you wish to check for yourself, go to this link: https://vaurgentcarelocator.triwest.com/Locator/Care
You can type in your address in the space indicated. It defaults to a 5 mile radius. If no facilities show up in the left hand column, widen your radius to more miles to have any choices or more choices.
The fourth aspect of the Mission Act concerns co-payments and insurance. You may still have a co-pay for VA healthcare services depending on your priority status and the service that you received and your financial situation. This aspect allows the VA to submit a bill directly to your insurance without your prior permission. If you object to this, your should contact your VA facility’s privacy officer. Since most Veterans in this area go to the Boise VA Medical Center, here is information for this facility’s privacy officer: Boise VA Medical Center Privacy Officer: e-mail at boiprivacyofficers@va.gov or by call (208) 422-1031.