VA to improve health care choice and quality for Veterans with new community care contracts

WASHINGTON -The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs today released a request for proposals (RFP) for new community care contracts that will improve health care choice and quality for Veterans over the next decade.

View the RFP here.

VA's community care program enables Veterans to access health care from non-VA medical providers at the department's expense. Community care has been an integral part of caring for Veterans since the World War II era. In 2018, President Trump enshrined this right for Veterans by signing the bipartisan MISSION Act. Today, about 40% of all VA care is provided through community care.

In 2018, VA signed contracts with health plans to serve as third-party administrators and manage VA's community care program. Many of these contracts are set to expire in 2026, and a new round of contracts is needed to ensure Veterans have continued access to the community care program.

The RFP VA announced today will lead to new community care contracts that will improve health care choice and quality for Veterans over the next decade in the following ways:

• More Choices for Veterans - The new indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract structure will provide more choices by allowing multiple national and regional health plans to compete to serve Veterans. Selected health plans will provide care and benefits uniquely adapted to Veterans and their communities.
• Improved Quality of Care for Veterans - The contracts will require health plans to adhere to broad industry standards of care used by all other major health care systems. This will ensure Veterans get care that has been shown to directly address their medical conditions and maximize their health and wellness.
• Improved VA Oversight of Community Care - The contracts will provide VA with the data, technology and systems to manage Veterans' care in real-time, drive innovation, and collaborate with the selected health plans to ensure that Veterans receive the highest quality health care.
• Contract Flexibility - The new IDIQ contract structure allows VA to issue multiple, competitive task orders over the life of the contract in order to adjust health plans, regions, contract requirements, and deliverables and ensure that health plans are empowered and accountable. Contractors that do not meet VA requirements can be off-ramped and replaced by other IDIQ health plans to ensure continuity of services and no disruption of care to Veterans or VA operations.

"VA has learned a lot about community care over the years, and we are putting that knowledge to use to help Veterans with the next generation of community care contracts," said VA Secretary Doug Collins. "This RFP will result in contracts that dramatically improve our ability to provide quality health care while ensuring Veterans can choose the care that's best for them."