can the va refer you to a private hospital
If VA has no primary-care doctor on staff, a referral for private care is required. That change alone should open the program to about 160,000 more veterans, officials said. The new rules also allow referrals to private doctors for any veteran who must travel by air, boat or ferry to a VA facility. Before the âChoiceâ card rolled out last year, veterans could only receive outside care for emergencies â wherever the closest hospital is, for instance â or for procedures VA didnât offer.