VA Choice Card eligibility expands

I got lucky on this. One of the best hospitals in town is LITERALLY right across the road from the VA here in Columbia. Another one is just up the road & around the corner. There's a reason people from Nebraska come down to Columbia for the VA appointment. It appears to be a real outlier in the general population of VAs, even with it's own issues of keeping good medical staff.

How do we get a new Choice Card......I live in Moses Lake, WA which is about 100 miles and more from any VA facility........I got one in the mail about 3 years ago, but no one would take it. I'm retired with 20 years service, and used the VA when I lived in Olympia....great people, great service. But now I need a Choice Card.

Columbus, Ohio has a great new clinic, the wait times can be more than 3 months some times or not when you want them. I find the VA personnel try to work with Veterans to figure out how to make the appointments happen and provide the needed care. I have not had the need for the Choice program. I can see it being a necessary option for Veterans with no clinics or clinics that are being non-responsive.