Houston VA denies mandate limiting community care for veterans, despite claims
HOUSTON - In a statement, the Houston VA says there is no mandate prohibiting them from sending veterans to receive care in the community.
But you're about to hear from some veterans who are adamant a mandate does indeed exist.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Veterans allege VA circumventing MISSION Act, delaying care
"I've been in the Houston area for about four years now," said veteran Ryan Long. "I've lost 20 friends down here to addiction, to suicide, a lot of it could have been prevented."
These veterans say they overcame their own substance abuse issues and are now helping other vets do the same.
"It's not just 20 days we are dealing with," said veteran Shane Hawthorne. "Sometimes, we will wait two months."
The MISSION Act gives veterans the right to seek treatment through a community care network if the VA can't provide treatment within a 30-mile drive of your residence or a 20-day wait.
"For a substance abuse issue, it has to be right then and there if the veteran is willing and he's already standing with you," Shane said.
The VA tells FOX 26, the wait time for the month of July for a new patient seeking mental health substance abuse treatment was 22 days.
"The VA's getting a lot harder to get guys into treatment right away," said Ryan. "Guys who are suicidal guys with substance abuse."
Ryan says the VA would only give outpatient care to a homeless vet struggling with drug addiction.
"They just put him back out in the street, the same place where all the drugs are," Ryan said.
"They will not give outside referrals unless they are making money off of it," said veteran Cory Fullerton.
The Houston VA tells us they've sent 2,900 veterans to the community for mental health treatment this fiscal year. Something Cory says he finds hard to believe.
"That's why veterans are going into the parking lot at the VA and committing suicide in a lot of places," he said.
Two veterans, working to help other vets with substance abuse issues, asked not to be identified out of fear the VA would retaliate against them.
They say in the last few weeks they've reached out to Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Dan Crenshaw, and Congressman Morgan Lutrell about the VA mandate.
What kind of response did they get?
"Nothing, just like we're giving you, silence," the veterans said.
A spokesperson from Sen. Cruz reached out to FOX 26 with this statement:
"Sen. Cruz has been fighting to dedicate sufficient resources to give our veterans the timely care they deserve, and has communicated this to Secretary of Veterans Affairs McDonough a number of times this year. This issue first came to his team’s attention last week, and he is looking into this further to ensure our veterans receive the care they deserve in Houston and all across Texas."
They also shared two letters Sen. Cruz has sent on community care issues this year:
- VA Community Care Wait Time Letter
- Sen. Moran Leads Colleagues in Urging VA to Correct Policies Affecting Veteran Access to Care
In a statement, Maureen Dyman, Communications Director for the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center said,
"1. There is no mandate prohibiting Houston VA from sending Veterans to receive care in the community. In fact, so far we have sent more than 2,900 Veterans to the community for mental health treatment this fiscal year alone.
2. Our wait times for the month of July for a new patient wanting a mental health substance abuse appt was 22 days. Our wait times for the past five months have been under 21 days for mental health substance abuse appointments. Houston VA has worked hard to improve our wait times and see Veterans as quickly as possible. Because we have been able to improve our wait times, some Veterans may find that they are no longer eligible for community care because there are more accessible high-quality care options at our VA.
3. We do send Veterans to the community for care if Houston VA can’t see them within the established wait time standards. However, what we are finding, in some cases, is that wait times in the community are longer than VA wait times. To provide Veterans with the first available appt, these Veterans are seen at the VA instead of waiting longer to be seen in the community."