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El Paso VA interim director says wait times down to 11 days, stresses registration and community-care coordination
Summary
Mark Riello, interim director at the El Paso VA, told the El Paso City Veteran Affairs Advisory Committee that primary care wait times for new patients at the Piedras facility have dropped to about 11 days and that same-day access remains available for urgent needs.
Mark Riello, interim director at the El Paso VA, told the El Paso City Veteran Affairs Advisory Committee that primary care wait times for new patients at the main Piedras facility have dropped to about 11 days and that the system continues to offer same-day access for urgent needs.
Riello said the VA has not cut benefits and is working to improve community-care coordination through expanded integrated case management. "Our wait times now for new patients in primary care have actually dropped even more ... we're down to 11 days," Riello said. He added that the VA is enhancing community care and investing resources where efficiency gains are identified.
The update addressed how VA funding and community care work at the local level. Riello described three appropriated VA funding streams — medical services, medical administration and medical facilities — and said community-care payments come from the medical services appropriation. He referred to the Mission Act criteria that determine community-care eligibility, citing drive time and wait-time thresholds and other statutory factors.
Riello urged veterans to register with the VA so the system can locate and pay for care when needed. "They must be registered," he said, describing registration events the El Paso VA holds and stressing that bedside outreach can be arranged but payments require the veteran be in the VA system. He also warned veterans with dual coverage to declare VA benefits first at outside facilities to avoid Medicare or private insurance being billed first.
On billing and outside-provider coordination, Riello said the VA uses TriWest as the third-party administrator for community care and that TriWest handles provider billing. He described efforts to give TriWest feedback when private providers bill incorrectly.
Riello described upcoming and recent outreach events, including a "borderplex" event and the El Paso VA Whole Health Summit on April 5 at the Beast Rec Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., which he said is open to the public and will highlight nonpharmacologic treatments such as chiropractic care, acupuncture and tai chi.
Committee members asked questions about funding flows and how community care is billed; Riello reiterated that local medical service funds are used for both in-house operations and community-care payments and that Congress appropriates the overall VA budget. He also encouraged veterans who are not yet enrolled to sign up so they are covered if they require emergency or inpatient care.
The update concluded with an offer to answer veterans' questions at registration events and with additional outreach at town halls and community events.
Ending: The El Paso VA said it will continue outreach through scheduled registration events and community partnerships, and highlighted the April 5 Whole Health Summit as an opportunity for veterans and family members to learn about alternatives to opioid pain medications and other resources.
