CARIBOU, Maine — Eligible veterans in northern Maine will now be able to continue to access services through the Access Received Closer to Home program, along with several new services being offered under the initiative.
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Rep. Bruce Poliquin announced Thursday that the Department of Veterans Affairs and Cary Medical Center in Caribou had signed a provider agreement that will allow qualified veterans in northern Maine to continue to receive the medical services currently offered through the ARCH program, while also tapping into podiatry, ophthalmology and pain management services at Cary Medical Center.
The ARCH program has been operating at Cary Medical Center in Caribou since 2011, when it was one of five facilities in the country selected as a program test site.
The Aroostook site has served about 1,600 local veterans through more than 17,000 medical appointments, according to data provided by the Caribou hospital.
The pilot program, however, is due to expire on August 7, 2016.
More than 90 percent of veterans participating in ARCH are overwhelmingly satisfied with their access to care and the medical services they receive. According to a VA-sponsored analysis, the average cost per veteran in Maine using the ARCH program is less than half the average cost for VHA direct care. Without the ability to continue receiving service initiated by the ARCH program, veterans in northern Maine would have to travel up to 600 miles round trip to access care at the Togus VA Hospital in Augusta.
“I’ve heard from countless Maine veterans about the extraordinary success of ARCH in eliminating long and difficult travel, reducing wait times and providing access to high-quality care in their communities. Given how well regarded ARCH is by our veterans and their families, I have strongly advocated for the program to be used as the model for the nation,” said Sen. Collins in a written statement. “This provider agreement appears to be a positive step that will allow ARCH veterans to receive seamless care consistent with what they are currently receiving. I am encouraged that the VA is committed to ensuring that our veterans in northern Maine have access to quality health care they have earned and deserve. At the same time, I will continue to advocate for a permanent solution.”
Sen. Angus King noted that Maine veterans deserve convenient, high-quality health care services, which he said that the ARCH program delivers.
“This provider agreement is a welcome step forward in the effort to help ensure that veterans continue to have access to those services,” he said.
Poliquin said that the announcement was an “important step and extremely encouraging news for our veterans in the Country that rely on this important program to receive their health care.”
A two-year extension of the ARCH program was included in the fiscal year 2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs spending bill that was passed unanimously by the Appropriations Committee in April. The measure now awaits consideration by the full Senate.
Collins, along with King, introduced bipartisan legislation in March 2016 to allow the ARCH program to continue operating through 2021. Poliquin introduced a bill in October 2015 that would make the ARCH program permanent. The congressman also introduced legislation in the House in April 2016 that is companion legislation to the senators’ ARCH extension bill.