George Marnell, director of the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System, told local veterans their health care will not change much when Valor Healthcare, a contractor, takes over Durango’s Community Based Outpatient Clinic on April 1.
Marnell, who addressed a crowd of about 90 people at the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Monday evening, said the clinic’s location would remain the same, and Valor had hired most of the clinic’s current staff.
He said the contractor was adding 1,000 square feet to the building.
“It’s going to be a change that’s not a change; the building is just going to be a little bit bigger,” Marnell said.
He said Valor is making arrangements to hire two doctors to staff the clinic, not one.
One woman said it was taking too long.
“We have a lot of very qualified doctors, nurses and health-care officials that already live in this area. This process seems to take a long time, and yet our veterans have to stand in longer and longer lines to get health care and that seems unacceptable,” she said.
Marnell assured her Valor “is actively looking now for that second provider now in that Durango clinic.”
Former Rep. J. Paul Brown asked whether the Affordable Care Act would affect the health care veterans were currently receiving.
“I was just wondering what the connection between Obamacare and veteran care will be, and if that is going to be a problem,” Brown said.
Marnell said Obamacare would not change veterans’ health care at all.
“One of the tenets of Obamacare is that if you are a veteran and you’ve signed up and are using the VA, that is a qualifying plan under the Affordable Care Act,” he said. “Veterans who choose to remain in the relationship they are in now with the VA will not face a penalty or anything to continue.”
Marnell said he was months from retiring as director of the New Mexico VA Health System, and a search for his replacement was underway.
cmcallister@durangoherald.com
