Veteran’s Choice

Veterans, you have a choice

Veterans in Charleston are fortunate to have one of the best VA medical facilities in the country – the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center. With the huge demand for care, Congress and the Veterans Administration created a program called Veterans Choice to make sure vets had access to the care they need in a timely manner.

If you are already enrolled in VA health care, you may be able to receive care from non-VA facilities, instead of waiting for a VA appointment or traveling to a VA facility. You are eligible if any of these situations apply to you:

  • You have been (or will be) waiting more than 30 days for VA medical care
  • You live more than 40 miles away from a VA medical care facility or face one of several excessive travel burdens

The VA website has a wealth of information that explains eligibility and procedures for getting the care you need.

And the Best Choice for Vets is MUSC Health

Working with your VA physicians, the Health Administration Service and Healthnet, the contractor that administers the program, you can be referred to the hospital of your choice, provided that the hospital or physician offers the service you need.

While there are other good hospitals in the area, we hope you will choose MUSC Health. Here’s why:

  • MUSC Health has had a close relationship with the Ralph Johnson VA for decades
  • Many of the doctors and other providers at the VA were trained at the Medical University of South Carolina and also work for MUSC Health in addition to the VA
  • MUSC was named the #1 Hospital in South Carolina by U.S. News & World Report
  • It’s the only NCI-designated cancer center in the state
  • MUSC has the most comprehensive Heart & Vascular Center
  • As a comprehensive academic medical center, MUSC has more nationally and internationally recognized specialists than any other local hospital
  • The Institute of Psychiatry and the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences’ Military Sciences Division have been working successfully with vets suffering from PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs)
  • MUSC Health has historically provided a military-friendly environment for: students and post graduate trainees; employees – including clinical and support staff; active, Guard and veteran patients and their families; and the government and non-government agencies and organizations that work with the military community