IB 10-600

February 2014

Meet the Veteran Health

Identication Card

Newly Designed - More Secure

Frequently Asked Questions - Employee Edition

General:

Why is VA issuing new identication cards to Veterans?

Government. VA is implementing the new VHIC, which incorporates the redesign.

The new cards are distinguished by additional security features that protect the Veteran’s personal

information and have a dierent look and feel. In addition to being more secure, the card has

been transformed into a health identication card. Similar to a typical health insurance card, the

VHIC displays the Veteran’s Member ID, a new, unique identier, as well as a Plan ID that reects the

Veteran’s enrollment in VA health care.

In February 2014, the card will be oered to newly enrolled Veterans and enrolled Veterans who have

not previously been issued a VIC and request an identication card. Then, in early April, VA will begin

automatically issuing the more secure VHIC to each VIC cardholder. After the new VHIC is received,

VA recommends Veterans dispose of their VIC as they would a credit card, and cut up or shred the card

replacement card issuance eort. By July 2014, each VIC cardholder will be automatically mailed a

VHIC, assuring enrolled Veterans have identication that is safe, authentic, secure, and accurate.

Page 1 of 8IB 10-600

What is the main information on the barcode and magnetic stripe?

The SSN will no longer be available on the card.

• The barcode contains:

• VHIC Card Number

• Electronic Data Interchange Personal Identier from Department of Defense (DoD EDIPI)

• The magnetic stripe contains:

• VA cardholder’s Name

replace the card when a Member ID is established.

How can I use the Member ID in VA applications?

In any prompt where you are selecting a patient, you should be able enter the Member ID. The usual

display will appear.

Select PATIENT NAME: 9857479524 TKAUTOTEST,PATIENTONE TESTMID 8-4-56

XXXXXXXXX YES ACTIVE DUTY

Who will receive the VHIC cards?

New VHIC cards will only be sent to those veterans who have been processed with the VHIC System.

The VHIC System’s documentation process provides a high degree of person identication that can be

leveraged across VA.

still depending on SSN-based searches. Given that the card no longer holds the SSN, those applications

were no longer able to use the card swipe or barcode readers. Sites would have had to manually type

information for Veterans with the new cards, causing frustration for both Veterans and medical center

stas. The decision to stop issuing new cards was made Sept. 16, 2013.

The main applications aected were identied and changes to them began immediately. Many

applications will be able to work with the new VHIC card in February 2014.

Although card production was stopped, VA medical center stas have been able to continue requesting

cards for issuance. As of the February, more than 130,000 VHICs were on hold pending release for

issuance.

VHIC cards wll be mailed to any valid mailing address, including PO boxes. See VHA Directive 2009, Data

Will the Veterans who are in receipt of the old VIC need to come in to have their picture taken for the

new VHIC?

No. Veterans who have the old VIC will automatically have their new VHIC mailed to them. No action by

the medical centers is needed. Remember, we will not begin mailing the replacement VHICs until April.

We anticipate about three months to complete mailing of over 6 million VHICs to Veterans who currently

have the old VIC.

Yes.

Will this card be proof for the new Aordable Care Act?

time the card was requested. A Veteran may no longer be eligible for VA health services or may have

cancelled his/her enrollment after receiving the VHIC.

Will the new VHIC work with the existing Vet Link System?

The Vet Link System is updating its software to be able to work with the new VHIC.

Will these cards be considered as valid ID cards to board an airplane, at a bank, etc.?

VHIC is a federally issued photo identication card; however, it is up to individual agencies and

corporations to determine if they will accept the VHIC as valid ID. Generally, it is accepted.

Does the old VIC satisfy the “Other Federal or State Issued ID” documentation requirement?

Yes, per VHA Directive 2012-036.

Will non-VA medical care providers be able to use the Health Plan or Member Identication number

VHICProgramT[email protected]. Granting access to the application typically takes 12 to 24 hours once the

roster is submitted. Access to the web-based VHIC application is controlled centrally by VA’s Enterprise

Provisioning system. As of Nov. 29, 2013, there were 3,800 VHIC users.

I have access to the Provisioning Website but am not able to access the CSP and IP Privileged User

Login. What are my next steps?

Contact the National Service Desk by phone at 1-888-596-4357 or by e-mail message to

Page 3 of 8IB 10-600

[email protected].

How does a person log on to the portal using the PIV card?

The VHIC system is not dependent on PIV access. It uses the existing network User ID and password.

How can I elevate my user access?

Contact your VIC supervisor.

page). Depending on the user role, there will be one or two icons, one for Card Requests and/or one for

Provisioning:

or can they perform both supervisor and clerk functions?

The VHIC supervisory role includes all VHIC clerk functions.

I can access the CA site but I cannot provision a user. I submitted my role as VHIC Supervisor on the

spreadsheet. What do I do now?

Contact the National Service Desk to have the provisioning level changed.

I have sta who have received their provisioning e-mail message, but their access/password did not

work. Who should they contact?

If you are experiencing problems accessing or using the VHIC 4.0.1 application or the VHIC Provisioning

application, call the VA Help Desk by phone at 1-888-596-4357 or by e-mail message to vhaistnsdtusc@

va.gov for the following issues:

• Cannot log into the Provisioning Application

What are the minimum requirements for proong?

Veterans should provide one primary form of identication or two secondary forms of identication,

based on the following table. When inputting the type of identication used for proong, list the same

forms of identication are used.

IB 10-600 Page 4 of 8

How do we proof Homeless Veterans or other Veterans who claim they cannot provide the identity

documents as requested by the VHA Directive 2012-036?

We are working with OIT to modify the system to incorporate the challenge questions described in the

directive. The challenge questions should ONLY be used “to authenticate a Veteran’s identity when no

acceptable Primary or Secondary Identication Documents are available ….” We anticipate these changes

to be available in June 2014. In the meantime, we cannot provide new VHIC cards to this group.

Some military ID cards do not have an expiration date? What should we use instead?

[email protected].

Technical Requirements:

Do we need to have Windows 7 or will the VHIC application work with Windows XP?

The VHIC System is a web-based application. The main system requirements are internet access, Windows

7 operating system and a web camera. The website to access the VHIC System is https://vic.iam.va.gov/

VIC/faces/index.jsf.

IB 10-600 Page 5 of 8

Has IT already been notied that it needs to change our system, or do we have to initiate this process?

You will need to notify your local IT to have their computers prepared.

Does this program require a dedicated computer or can we access this program from any computers?

A dedicated computer is not required.

Is the webcam considered IT equipment?

The patches are not required for the VHIC card request program, but are for the swipe/scan devices at the

e-mail message to [email protected].

Application:

Can I take the VHIC picture the same day the Veteran applies for VA health care?

No. The Veteran information will have to be entered into the enrollment system rst.

How do I login to the new VHIC application?

The URL for the VHIC site is https: //vic.iam.va.gov/VIC/faces/index.jsf. You will not be able to access it

Available reports will vary depending on access level. Basic reports include Card Request Totals, Card

How long does it take to process and mail the new cards once they’re ordered?

Is there a place to see what cards are on hold and why?

VHIC does not have a hold system. If a Veteran does not qualify for card at the time of application, the

Can the same picture be reused when a new card is ordered?

For integrated VISNs, will there be the ability to pull requests and reports based on the ve-digit site

indicator, or will reports be VISN-wide only?

Currently, reports can be pulled up by VISN-wide only. We are working with our IT development team to

allow more customizable reports, to include the ability to retrieve data by local facility.

Does each site need to submit a change request or is there a national request in place to have the

pictures available in Vista Imagining?

National requests are being worked for applications, such as Vista Imaging.

Does anyone have an updated VHIC CPM to include the new web-based provisioning system that they

va.gov.

What to know if my site has customizations for CPRS to display the picture?

sites regarding CPRS GUI when a photo is displayed when pulling a Veteran record. This modication uses

the photo from VistA Imaging. VistA Imaging no longer receives updates from the VHIC System as of Sept.

6, 2013.

Page 7 of 8IB 10-600

Given that this is a Class 3 modication, we cannot mandate changes to it. We continue to search for a

site (technical and business team) that would be willing to volunteer to make the local modication. The

National OIT, Product Support and Chief Business Oce are ready to support the site that volunteers to

assist.

The earliest the National CPRS product team can integrate the photo into the Class 1 National Product is

2015.

For issues with the new VHIC Application, such as requesting a card, taking pictures or running reports,

• VHIC User National Roster needs to be updated for your facility

Who do I contact for other issues?

CBO continues to partner with Product Support and Product Development in revising the training

We are working to provide more communication to the local IT/IRM teams so they can resolve local

resolution.