OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Mary Fallin on announced Thursday that the state will seek $250 million in federal funds to improve health care for veterans.
The funds from the federally funded Veterans Choice Program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would be used for a three-year pilot program.
The goals would be to provide physician appointments within 20 days and within 30 miles of a patient and to increase the number of primary care physicians and specialists available to veterans, officials said.
Doctors would receive fair market based reimbursement within 30 days, said Pete Reed, who was executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs during former Gov. George Nigh’s administration.
“Our veterans deserve and have earned through sacrifice the best health care available,” said Reed, who was project coordinator. “This plan provides a cost-effective, efficient and accessible network of care every veteran can support.”
People are also reading…
The program would cover mental health, home health, nursing care, rehabilitative care and coordinated access to physicians, laboratory services, pharmacy services and tele-health.
The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs would administer the independent program.
Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Director Doug Elliott said he thinks a third-party administrator will have to be hired using some of the $250 million.
Fallin and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Myles Deering said the state will work with its congressional delegation in hopes of securing the funding.
Mark Kinders, vice president for public affairs at the University of Central Oklahoma, said Oklahoma is tenth in population of veterans with 310,000, but 18th in federal funding.
The details for the pilot program came after Fallin assembled a team to undertake the study two years ago.
