By npr.org
Veterans who need to see a doctor often have to travel long distances 40 miles or more to get to a Department of Veterans Affairs facility. So last year, after scandals involving long wait times for vets, Congress tried to make getting care easier.
The Veterans Choice Act gives veterans the option of using a doctor outside the VA system if VA facilities are more than 40 miles away, or there’s more than a 30-day wait for an appointment.
While the rule seems simple, making it work hasn’t been as easy. In Indiana, for example, veterans are still having to go far to get the care they need.
John Birdzell is a retired Army vet who volunteers to pick up other veterans at their homes and bring them to the Adam Benjamin Jr., VA Medical Clinic in Crown Point, Ind. On this 
cold, early morning, Birdzell waits in the facility’s empty parking lot while 30 mile-an-hour wind gusts swirl the lake effect snow coming off of Lake Michigan.
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