Choice Program gets mixed reviews from veterans at VA listening session

By  Dan Carpenter

The Alaska VA Healthcare System held a quarterly listening session in Anchorage Friday, a meeting aimed at directly addressing Veterans’ concerns.

“Basically we’re cutting out the middle man, that way that veteran is able to express his concerns however passionate he wants to, directly to their leadership,” said Samuel G. Hudson, a spokesperson for the healthcare system. Hudson says one of the topics that comes up time and time again is the “Choice Program.”

In 2014, Congress passed legislation that changed the way veterans, including those here in Alaska, connect with their doctors.

“All the time, all the time it comes up and what I’m finding out is a lot of it is wanting to know what’s the status, anything new that’s coming up,” said Hudson.

When the program was first rolled out, Alaska veterans were required to call the lower 48
for local appointments. Today, Alaska calls go to a centralized call center in Washington (1-866-606-8198) but there is also a local option (907-257-6904).

Veterans at Friday’s listening session still expressed frustration over access to healthcare.

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