Last month, Saint Thomas Health announced a partnership to provide care through the Veterans Choice Program, giving veterans the choice to receive care at Saint Thomas Health locations throughout Middle Tennessee.  

As part of Ascension, the nation’s largest nonprofit healthcare system and the world’s largest Catholic health system, Saint Thomas Health joins 23 other states and the District of Columbia in sustaining and improving the health of individuals and communities by serving as an official provider of Veteran Care outside the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Now qualified U.S. veterans who face wait times in excess of 30 days at the VA or have to travel farther than 40 miles from their home can receive care from Saint Thomas Health doctors at more than 80 sites of care in the region.

The Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 established funding to pay for healthcare services provided to veterans by private healthcare providers. Through the partnership, Saint Thomas Health physicians and other caregivers are authorized to provide primary care, inpatient and outpatient specialty care, and mental health care for eligible veterans outside of VA. Nearly 9 million veterans received the Veterans Choice Card. Use of the card is strictly voluntary; veterans who qualify for VA healthcare can continue to receive care at a VA medical facility as they have in the past. The program will end when the allocated funds of $10 billion are used or no later than August 7, 2017.