Attorney David W. Magann Supports VA Efforts to Improve Veterans’ Access to Community Care

Tampa, Florida – The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently made it easier for VA healthcare-enrolled veterans to access community care from non-VA providers – a move that will help disabled veterans in Florida and throughout the US, according to Tampa veterans benefits lawyer David W. Magann.

In mid-2025, the VA announced a change to its rules regarding community care services. Under the previous rule, a veteran and their doctor had to decide whether the veteran would benefit from access to a non-VA community care program, and then submit that decision for review from a second VA doctor. Only if a second doctor approved the plan would the VA pay for non-VA community care assistance.

Under the new rules, veterans seeking help from community care programs don’t have to go through the extra step of having a second doctor review the plan. The VA will cover community care costs from non-VA providers as long as the veteran and their referring medical provider agree that the care is in the veteran’s best interest.

To enact this change, the VA relied on language from the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. The law, passed in January 2025 and signed by then-President Joe Biden, seeks to improve veterans’ lives in several ways. Topics covered in the Dole Act include the disability claims process, job training and employment, homelessness, mental health services, and at-home care for aging and disabled veterans.

Home- and community-based services have long been a part of the care system for aging and disabled individuals, including veterans. These services allow a veteran to live at home and to navigate their local community, building the relationships and familiarity proven to support mental and physical health more effectively than institutional care does. The new rule makes it easier for veterans to access community-based services.

“Access to community care is an essential part of daily life for many disabled veterans,” says veterans benefits attorney David W. Magann. “To have the VA recognize that is a real win for Florida veterans.”