Authorized under Section 101 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (VACAA), the Veterans Choice Program (VCP) is a new, temporary program that enables eligible veterans to receive medical care in the community. (P.L. 115-26 eliminated the August 7, 2017, expiration date for the VCP and allowed the program to continue until the initial $10 billion deposited in the Veterans Choice Fund was expended. The VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017, P.L. 115-46, authorized and appropriated an additional $2.1 billion to continue the VCP until funds were expended, and when these funds were also nearing its end, Division D of P.L. 115-96 appropriated an additional $2.1 billion to continue the VCP until funds are expended.) It supplements several existing statutory authorities that allow the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to provide health care services to veterans outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. Generally, all medical care and services (including inpatient, outpatient, pharmacy, and ancillary services) are provided through the VCP--institutional long-term care and emergency care in non-VA facilities are excluded from the VCP and are provided under different authorities. The VCP is not a health insurance plan for veterans, nor does it guarantee health care coverage to all veterans.
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