The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) analyzes national-level data by birth sex to assess health outcomes for women veterans. For example, it analyzes frequency data to identify their most common health conditions. However, VHA is limited in its assessment of health outcomes for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) veteran population because i

To help ensure veterans' access to timely health care services, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) purchases care from non-VA providers, known as community care. VA estimates that by fiscal year 2022, its obligations for veterans' community care will total $21.3 billion, an increase of $6.6 billion (45 percent) from fiscal year 2018. This estimated increase reflects implementation of the VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) established an appointment scheduling process for the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP) that allows up to 19 days to complete several steps from VA providers creating a referral to community care staff reviewing that referral. However, VA has not specified the maximum amount of time veterans should have to wait to receive care through the program. GAO

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pays over $1 billion a year to state veterans homes (SVH)—homes owned and operated by the states—to provide nursing home care to approximately 20,000 veterans. In fiscal year 2019, VA paid SVHs $1.17 billion for an average daily census of 20,072 veterans (51 percent of the total veterans receiving nursing home care through VA). Further, VA projects its

The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) provides training to more than 45,000 medical and dental residents annually through its Graduate Medical Education (GME) program. VHA has established policy for its GME program that details many roles and responsibilities for overseeing VA medical facilities' reimbursements to affiliated academic institutions for reside

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) used a multi-step process to help ensure that its future commercial electronic health record (EHR) system is configured appropriately for, and is compatible with, its clinical work processes. To configure the EHR system, which VA planned to implement initially at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, in Spokane, Washington, in July 2020, and at the Puget S

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may obtain advice and recommendations from private citizens and other entities to inform various agency decisions. GAO reviewed VA officials' interactions with three private citizens—Bruce Moskowitz, Isaac Perlmutter, and Marc Sherman (collectively, private citizens)—and others in relation to five activities or decisions, hereafter referred to as initia

In March 2019, GAO identified 30 priority recommendations for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Since then, VA has implemented 10 of those recommendations by, among other things, taking actions to ensure employees are protected against retaliation and helping ensure timely and accurate processing of veterans' enrollment applications. In addition to the 10 recommendations that VA has implem

Nationally, since 2002, rates of drug misuse have increased, according to GAO's analysis of federal data. In 2018, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that an estimated 19 percent of the U.S. population (over 53 million people) misused or abused drugs, an increase from an estimated 14.7 percent in 2003. People across a broad range of demographic groups—includi

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides or purchases long-term care for eligible veterans through 14 long-term care programs in institutional settings like nursing homes and noninstitutional settings like veterans' homes. From fiscal years 2014 through 2018, VA data show that the number of veterans receiving long-term care in these programs increased 14 percent (from 464,071 to 530,327 v