North Coast veterans to benefit from change in medical choice program

From the Sea Ranch, it’s 60.6 miles to the nearest Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Santa Rosa. As the crow flies, it’s a little more than 38 miles.

Why does that matter?

The federal government previously used the avian metric to determine if military veterans were eligible for the VA’s Veterans Choice Program, which allows vets to use local, private medical providers rather than drive long distances to VA facilities.

On Wednesday, the VA announced that it would greatly increase eligibility for the program by changing the way it calculates distances between veterans’ home addresses and the nearest VA facility, “from a straight line distance to driving distance.”

The agency said the change will be made through regulatory action in the next few weeks, and that it would likely double the number of veterans eligible for the program.

Earlier this year, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and other lawmakers raised concerns about measuring distance “as the crow flies.”

On Jan. 13, Huffman sent a letter to VA Secretary Robert McDonald pointing out that some 1,700 veterans in his North Coast district live in inaccessible areas and could be eligible for the program if distance were instead measured in miles driven.

In his letter, Huffman listed the towns of Annapolis, the Sea Ranch and Stewart’s Point in Sonoma County; Fort Bragg, Gualala and Point Arena in Mendocino County; Willow Creek in Humboldt County; and Junction City and Burnt Ranch in Trinity County.

Because of the mountainous nature of these communities, driving mileage can be anywhere from 50 to 80 miles.

Huffman asked that these communities be designated “geographically inaccessible” under the terms of the Veterans Choice Program.

Kenneth Wingett, an 88-year-old Word War II veteran, estimated that 50 percent of the 1,000 members of the North Bay chapter of Disabled American Veterans live outside the program’s 40-mile limit, as measured by driving miles. The chapter covers a region that includes all of Sonoma County and the western portion of Napa County, he said.

The rule change will help veterans along the coast and in the northern part of California, said Wingett, who is past state commander of Disabled American Veterans.

“They finally built a clinic up in Eureka,” he said. “People up there, if they needed something other than getting their teeth brushed, they would benefit staying up there and going to a local doctor.”

The VA announced it would change the way it measures distances one day after “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” aired a comedy bit about the issue, pointing out that veterans can’t fly like crows.

Stewart took credit for the VA’s change of heart.

But the VA said Wednesday that the change was made based on input from veterans and Congress.

The initial straight-line rule reflected the agency’s implementation of legislation passed last year authorizing the Veterans Choice Program, Sloan Gibson, deputy secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs said in an email.

“Based on feedback from veterans and (Congress) members, we believe we need to change it,” he said.

You can reach Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.