CHICAGO (AP) – A leading hospital system in the U.S. is courting military veterans with a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, raising concerns from some veterans groups that private sector marketing could weaken the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system.
The campaign tag lines – “Veterans have a choice in healthcare” and “You honored your oath, and so do we” – emphasize consumer preference and the shared values of medical professionals and the military.
Starting Monday, TV, radio, print and online ads by St. Louis-based Ascension Health’s will urge veterans to call a toll-free number for information about Veterans Choice, the cornerstone of the VA overhaul approved in 2014, which makes it easier for veterans to receive federally paid medical care from local doctors.
Veterans groups say it’s the first large-scale marketing to Choice-eligible veterans.
Vets are wary of proposals to privatize the VA health system and fear that draining off patients and dollars could hurt the VA in the long term, said Louis Celli of the American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans group. While they supported the Choice legislation following a scandal over long wait times and falsified records, most want the program to remain temporary, he said.