In April, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) streamlined its process for the purchase of prosthetic limbs for veterans, which has reduced wait times by ten days. The VA expects average wait times to continue to fall from 94 days to 54 days as facilities across the nation fully implement the new process.
Under prior procurement rules, orders for all prosthetic limbs had to be approved by a contracting officer, which meant veterans had to wait several additional weeks before delivery. In April, the VA exempted approximately 95 percent of prosthetic limb orders from contracting officer reviews, establishing that only the most expensive devices would continue to be subject to the reviews, and authorized local purchasing agents to source directly from local suppliers whenever prosthetic limb prices are set by Medicare.
