Physicians at the 2014 AMA Annual Meeting voted Tuesday to ask President Barack Obama to provide timely access to entitled care for eligible veterans via the health care sector outside of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system until the VA can provide health care in a timely fashion.
The new AMA policy also directs the AMA to urge Congress to quickly enact long-term solutions so eligible veterans always can have timely access to entitled care.
The policy came in response to recent access-to-care problems that have left thousands of veterans unable to receive care in a timely fashion. A VA audit released this week found that more than 57,000 veterans still are awaiting their first medical appointment at VA medical facilities, while 64,000 who have enrolled in the VA’s health care system have never had an appointment.
The AMA policy includes recommending that state and local medical societies develop a registry of physicians who are willing to care for veterans, which could then be provided to local communities and VA sites across the country to help expedite access to care.
“The AMA believes that all Americans should have access to health care, especially those who bravely serve our country,” incoming AMA President Robert M. Wah, MD, said in a news release. “Our nation’s physicians can and should be a part of the solution to this national crisis to ensure America’s veterans get access to the care they need and deserve.”
