What Jon Stewart Said That Shook Up the VA and Changed the Lives of US Vets (Video)

MUST WATCH-"The Daily Show" has just made a huge difference in the lives of veterans, helping many gain access to a program they were unfairly kept from using. (Watch what he said.)  

The Choice Program, which was put in place to speed access to medical care after it was revealed that some patients had been waiting months for treatment, allows veterans who live far from VA facilities to get out-of-network care closer to home. 

The problem? To be eligible, you have to live 40 miles from the nearest VA facility using "as-the-crow-flies" miles. 

"Because that is the least-meaningful way to judge how hard it is to get somewhere for non-crows," Stewart said on Monday night's "Daily Show" as he highlighted the struggles of some veterans to obtain the health care they needed. 

The rule kept many who lived far from hospitals by roads from using the program. But on Tuesday, seemingly in response to what Stewart called his "damning piece of investigative joke-a-lism," the Department of Veterans Affairs changed the rule and will now use actual driven miles based on Google Maps rather than "as-the-crow-flies" miles. 

The change in language will double the number of veterans eligible for the Choice Program. 

● Jon Stewart Video  

 

(Ed Mazza writes for HuffingtonPost.com where this video was most recently posted.)

-cw

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CityWatch

Vol 13 Issue 26

Pub: Mar 27, 2015