VA’s Plans to Expand Remote Health Care Raises Concerns from Advocates


During a recent House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, chief consultant at the Veterans Health Administration Dr. Jennifer MacDonald stated that the department intends to continue offering and expanding telehealth services to veterans. However, several advocacy groups are voicing concern that this may not provide adequate medical alternatives for low-income veterans.

According to an article published by MilitaryTimes, “VA leaders have touted telehealth expansion as a success story for the department in recent months, providing a way for tens of thousands of veterans to continue receiving medical care even as hospitals and clinics limited access in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus. Clinical video appointments, for example, increased from about 10,700 sessions in early March to more than 126,700 sessions in early June, a nearly 1,100-percent boost.”

Although almost half of the veterans who receive health care are registered with the VA’s online patient portal, there are still millions of veterans that remain outside the new system of remote health care options.

Relevant Pages: Veterans Disability