Community Care

Interested in getting your care outside the VA?

Veterans may be eligible for care through a provider in their local community depending on their health care needs or circumstances and if they meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. If their wait time for an appointment is more:
   1. 20 days for a primary care or mental health appointment or
   2. 28 days for a specialty appointment.
2. If they must drive more than:
   1. 30 minutes for a primary care or specialty appointment
   2. 60 minutes for a specialty appointment.
3. If the Veteran’s VA provider determines it is in their best medical interest to use a community provider instead of a VA provider.

If a Veteran decides to receive their care in the community, here are some IMPORTANT steps they need to follow:

1. Speak with their VA primary care provider.   If their primary care provider agrees, they will submit a community care consult. 
2. Community care clinical staff will approve or disapprove the Veteran’s consult; this normally takes 2 business days.  If community care isn’t approved, the Veteran should contact their primary care provider.  It may be because the VA provides that care and can provide those services in a timely manner. 
3. If the Veteran’s Community Care consult is approved, the Community Care office will contact them to gather their scheduling preferences. This can take up to 30 business days.  It’s very important that the Veteran has their voice mail on and that they don’t block VA calls.  If the Veteran does not receive a call in 30 days, they should call the community care office by dialing the Cheyenne VA’s main number (307-778-7550) and using option 5 followed by option 2. Veterans can proactively contact the community care office by calling them or using MyHealthyVet. 
4. The community care office will create the Veteran’s referral which begins the authorization process. Veterans must have an authorization to receive care in the community!
   Veterans will receive a letter in the mail outlining our care with authorized dates.  Veterans should be on the lookout for this letter! 
5. The community care office will send the Veteran’s referral and their necessary medical documentation to the community provider that the Veteran selected. This is normally done within 1 business day. 
6. The community care office will send the Veteran a scheduling letter with instructions on how to schedule. This is normally done within 1 business day. 
7. The Veteran should make their medical appointment with their preferred community provider.  Veterans have 21 days from the day they opt in to make the appt with the community provider. They must schedule an appointment within 21 days (they do not need to be seen by the community provider within the 21 days).  The Veteran’s authorization is not valid until VA receives information on a scheduled appointment. If the Veteran does not inform community care of their scheduled appointment, their consult and referral may be discontinued.
   Veterans must provide the appointment time and date to Community Care office.  They may leave a voicemail by calling 307-778-7550 option 5, then 2 or they can send a message to community care on MyHealthyVet. 
8. We ask that Veterans please attend their scheduled appointment with the community provider. If they cancel or no-show their appointment referral and consult may be discontinued. 
9. The Veteran’s community provider will send any new medical documents from the appointment the community care office at Fax #307-778-7360.
10. If the Veteran needs any follow-up care, or if the authorization has expired, or the community provider states the Veteran needs additional services that are not covered by the authorization the Veteran must see their primary care provider. The Veteran’s primary care provider will enter a new consult for new or additional care

Keys to a having Veteran’s health care needs met in the community:

• Have voice mail turned on and don’t block the VA or TRIWEST number.
• Read letters. If the Veteran doesn’t understand, please call us!
• If the Veteran’s health changes, speak to the Veteran’s primary care provider as soon as possible.
• If the Veteran hasn’t been contacted to have their care scheduled, call 307-778-7550 option 5, then 2 leave a message with the Veteran’s name, last 4 and the care they need.
• Attend scheduled appointments.
• Don’t go to any appointments that are not authorized within the dates and service  

Enrolled Veterans may also choose from more than 60,000 community locations to get a NO-COST flu shot by following this link: https://www.va.gov/find-locations to find a location near you. Below are most of the pharmacies in our communities that take VA payment: