The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched a new healthcare enrollment initiative called "Concierge for Care." The initiative will connect veterans with the VA shortly after separation and aims to connect veterans with VA healthcare programs as efficiently and quickly as possible.

Learn more about Concierge for Care and how it will help veterans.

Concierge for Care: Creating a Connection With Veterans

Concierge for Care is a new healthcare enrollment initiative where VA staff members will contact newly separated service members to answer questions, process applications and schedule their first VA medical appointment, if necessary.

Former VA Secretary, David J. Shulkin, announced the initiative saying:

 “Our goal is to give transitioning service members one less thing to worry about. We know that more than a third of Veterans who haven’t yet visited our facilities indicated they are not aware of VA health care benefits, while a quarter reported they do not know how to apply.”

Concierge for Care hopes to bridge that gap in knowledge by contacting newly separated service members within one month of separation. The VA receives a list of newly discharged or separated service members from the Department of Defense. The agency will work through that list to contact each person by phone.

Concierge for Care Program Meets a Critical Need in the VA

The Concierge for Care initiative is an attempt to help veterans access VA care due to insufficient patient onboarding processes.

A September 2017 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the VA failed to meet the five day maximum wait period for enrollment to the VA.

As enrollment for VA services grows (7.9 million veterans in 2006 to 9 million veterans in 2016), the argument for a more efficient enrollment system has grown more compelling. The report emphasizes the importance of the patient onboarding process saying:

"To receive care, most veterans must be deemed eligible by VHA through an assessment of military service and financial need and enrolled in the VHA healthcare system. Enrollment is generally the first step veterans take when accessing VHA care, thus accurate and timely processing of veterans’ enrollment applications is critical to helping ensure that eligible veterans obtain needed health care."

Written by Alissa Sauer