Armed Forces News

The Department of Veterans Affairs continues to develop plans to unveil its Choice Card program, which would enable veterans who live more than 40 miles from VA medical facilities to use private health-care providers instead. The Fleet Reserve Association reported in July that veterans’ organizations believed VA would not meet the Nov. 5 deadline for rolling out Choice Cards. The VA stated that issues surrounding the “highly complex” system must be resolved. Veterans’ advocates believed the deadline was not realistic from the outset. Some 700,000 to 800,000 veterans would be eligible for the new cards, the Fleet Reserve Association reported.