Health care delivery begins under new VA contract

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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has recently implemented a community health care delivery to local veterans under the contract awarded to Optum Public Sector Solutions, Inc., part of UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

“The new Community Care Network (CCN) contract awards reflect our ongoing commitment to increasing veterans access to care,” said VA Secretary Robert L. Wilkie, “and were designed based on feedback from veterans and other stakeholders.”

“We are confident it will greatly improve care coordination for veterans here in our area and improve the timeliness of payments to our local community providers,” added Chilicothe VA Medical Center Director Kathy Berger.

TriWest Health Care Alliance has been managing VA’s community care network in the area and will fully transition responsibility to Optum over the next few weeks. VA community providers contracted by TriWest will not be automatically enrolled in CCN, so they will be required to sign up with Optum to continue providing services to veterans under CCN.

The VA’s new community care network is made up of six regions. Region 2 includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The VA is deploying this new network in phases to ensure continuity of care coordination. Veterans will continue to receive care from their current community providers during the transition.

The new network serves as the direct link between the VA and local health care providers providing a standard contract vehicle for the VA to purchase care. Optum will manage the network and process claims for payment to local providers on behalf of the VA.

Contact the Care Navigation Center at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center, 740-773-1141, ext. 7193, with any questions.

Submitted by Stacia Ruby, public affairs officer, Chillicothe VA Medical Center.

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