The VA MISSION Act improves access to healthcare for Veterans, both in VA facilities and in their own communities. Part of the MISSION Act involves the VA Community Care Network (CCN). The CCN is a network of healthcare providers connected to the VA to ensure Veterans receive timely, high quality healthcare.
Kingman Regional Medical Center (KRMC) is a proud member of the VA Community Care Network.
As a community provider, KRMC can provide certain needed health services to eligible Veterans in our area, reducing travel time and wait time for appointments. Note: all care must be coordinated through the VA.
Who is eligible?
Some veterans think they aren’t entitled to benefits if they didn’t see combat; however, anyone who served active duty in the military for 90 consecutive days is entitled to veterans’ benefits.
A Veteran’s eligibility for community care is dependent on their individual health needs and circumstances.
Just one of the following factors can qualify a Veteran for community care services:
- It is in the Veteran’s best medical interest to see a community provider outside a VA facility
- Veteran needs a service not available at a VA medical facility
- Veteran lives in a U.S. State or territory without a full-service VA medical facility
- Veteran qualifies under the “Grandfather” provision related to distance eligibility for the Veterans Choice Program
- VA cannot provide care that meets certain accessibility standards:
The VA has standards for accessible care, including limits in drive time and appointment wait times (the time between scheduling and the appointment itself).
If certain services, including primary care, diagnostic testing, and non-institutional extended care, are not reachable within a 30-minute average drive time, a Veteran would qualify for community care. For specialty care, the average drive time is 60 minutes.
For primary, mental health, and non-institutional extended care services, Veterans who cannot get an appointment within 20 days at a VA facility would be eligible for community care. The limit for specialty care is 28 days.
To qualify for community care, veterans must be enrolled in VA health care or be eligible for VA health care without needing to enroll.
In most cases, Veterans must receive approval from the VA before receiving care from a community provider. Talk to a VA staff member about your eligibility for community care.
Scheduling an Appointment
Once a Veteran has confirmed authorization to receive community care, they can choose their preferred community provider within the VA’s network. If they have no preference, a VA staff member can help select one.
To schedule an appointment, a Veteran has the following options:
- Directly schedule an appointment and inform a VA staff member
- Use VA Online Scheduling to request an appointment for certain types of routine services
- Have a VA staff member schedule an appointment
- Have VA’s Third Party Administrator schedule an appointment
If a Veteran needs a follow-up appointment, the community provider must ensure VA has authorized additional care before scheduling another appointment.
Other Services
Under the MISSION Act, Veterans also have pharmacy and urgent care benefits.
If a community provider prescribes a medication, the prescription will be filled by the nearest VA pharmacy and sent to the Veteran’s home.
If the medication need is urgent, a non-VA pharmacy, such as the KRMC Community Pharmacy, can fill no more than a 14-day supply of the medication.
A Veteran does not need to make an appointment for urgent care to treat minor injuries and illnesses. Located at 1726 Beverly Avenue in Kingman, KRMC Urgent Care is an in-network provider for Veterans who are eligible for community care.
Kingman Regional Medical Center is honored to provide care to those who have served our country.
Sidebar
Contacts for care coordination and eligibility information:
- Kingman VA Clinic
2668 Hualapai Mountain Road, Kingman AZ 86401
928-718-7300
- VA Community Care Call Center
1-877-881-7618
- VA Website
va.gov/communitycare