St. Cloud VA Health care
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Quick Facts for using Community Care for Urgent Needs

VA offers eligible Veterans an urgent care benefit for the treatment of minor injuries and illnesses at retail and urgent care providers who are part of VA’s contracted network. The urgent care benefit is offered to Veterans in addition to urgent care and same-day services VA provides through its medical facilities.

Urgent care providers treat injuries and illnesses that require immediate attention but are not life-threatening, such as the common cold, minor burns and skin infections.

To be eligible for the urgent care benefit, you must (1) be enrolled in the VA healthcare system, AND (2) have received care through VA, from either a VA or a community provider within the last 24 months.  To check eligibility, call 844-MyVA311 (844) 698-2311 or contact your local medical facility.

Use VA’s Facility Locator at https://www.va.gov/find-locations. To find an urgent care location, select the “Urgent care” VA facility type and then “Community urgent care providers (in VA’s network)” from the service type drop-down.

Print the Urgent Care Assistance Card (or have it viewable on your mobile device) and take it with you to your urgent care visit and in-network pharmacy. When using the card, identify the correct region where you are seeking care-Veterans in Minnesota are in CCN Region 2.

Many community provider locations have changing hours and services that have changed because of COVID-19. Also, providers may choose to participate in or leave the network at any time. Please call before visiting any location.

Tell the urgent care provider you would like to use your VA urgent care benefit and confirm that they are part of VA’s network.

Do NOT pay a copayment to the provider at the time of visit. VA will bill you separately for any applicable copayment. Copayments depend on your assigned priority group and the number of times you visit an urgent care provider in a calendar year, however, there is no limit on the number of times you can access urgent care.

Urgent care is not a replacement for preventive health care or management of chronic or complex health conditions. You should work with your primary care provider for this type of care. If you go to an urgent care provider and receive noncovered services, you are responsible for the full cost of care.

VA will pay for or fill prescriptions resulting from your urgent care visit. Urgent care prescriptions for medication longer than a 14-day supply must be sent to VA to be filled. You can fill a 14-day supply of medication written by an urgent care provider at a contracted pharmacy within the VA network, a non-contracted pharmacy that is not part of the VA network, or directly at a VA pharmacy. Opiates will be limited to seven days or less, consistent with the pharmacy location’s state law. If a non-contracted pharmacy is used, you must pay for the prescription and then file a claim for reimbursement. 

Call 877- 881-7618 for information and assistance in filing a claim for reimbursement. Veterans filing claims for prescription reimbursement should include a copy of the prescription (pharmacy label) and receipt and mail to:

OCC Claims Processing – St. Cloud
PO Box 1004
Fort Harrison, MT 59636-1004

For the best experience, please print and use the Urgent Care Assistance Card and Urgent Care Quick Facts Cards attached to this bulletin.