Cost of VA Medical Care to Ineligible Persons Is High and Difficult To Recover
HRD-81-77
Published: Jul 02, 1981. Publicly Released: Jul 13, 1981.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed the extent to which the Veterans Administration (VA) has strengthened its administrative controls to preclude providing medical care to persons who were found not to be properly entitled to veterans' benefits.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Veterans Administration | The Administrator of the Veterans Administration should direct the Chief Benefits Director to require medical centers to actively follow up on their requests for eligibility determinations. |
Closed – Implemented
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Administration | The Administrator of the Veterans Administration should direct the Chief Benefits Director to instruct medical centers to promptly bill ineligible individuals for all care provided. |
Closed – Implemented
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Administration | The Administrator of the Veterans Administration should direct the Controller to reconcile the quarterly report on medical accounts receivable to insure it agrees with the general ledger account. |
Closed – Implemented
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Administration | The Administrator of the Veterans Administration should direct the Chief Benefits Director to update Beneficiary Identification and Records Locator Subsystem records to the extent possible based on available veterans' claims folders. |
Closed – Not Implemented
The eligibility issues are being reviewed by the GAO Accounting and Financial Management Division in Chicago.
|
| Veterans Administration | The Administrator of the Veterans Administration (VA) should direct the Chief Benefits Director to direct the regional offices when assisting medical centers to make certain that they provide the centers with decisions on whether individuals with other than honorable discharges are entitled to VA benefits. |
Closed – Implemented
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Administration | The Administrator of the Veterans Administration (VA) should direct the Chief Medical Director to establish a formalized system in which VA medical centers close to each other are notified when an individual has been determined ineligible for VA benefits. |
Closed – Not Implemented
This issue is being examined by the GAO Accounting and Financial Management Division.
|
| Veterans Administration | The Administrator of the Veterans Administration should direct the Controller to analyze the quarterly report periodically to identify and take corrective actions on centers which are not disposing of debts promptly. |
Closed – Implemented
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Administration | The Administrator of the Veterans Administration should direct the Chief Benefits Director to instruct medical centers to complete applications for medical benefits and records of examination, including all available service information and indications as to whether prompt medical care is needed. |
Closed – Implemented
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Administration | The Administrator of the Veterans Administration should direct the Controller to provide a copy of the reconciled report to the Department of Medicine and Surgery for analysis to identify and to take corrective actions on an as-needed basis. |
Closed – Implemented
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Administration | The Administrator of the Veterans Administration (VA) should direct the Chief Medical Director to provide care to individuals whose eligibility cannot be verified at the time of application only if, upon examination, VA physicians determine that prompt medical care is needed. If there is no need for prompt medical attention, VA personnel should inform the individual that further care cannot be provided until his or her eligibility can be determined. |
Closed – Implemented
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
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Topics
Collection proceduresEligibility criteriaHealth care cost controlHealth care programsHospital administrationInformation systemsProgram evaluationRecords managementVeterans benefitsVeterans hospitals