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

The Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS) provides counseling through 300 Vet Centers, which can be found in community settings and are separate from other VHA facilities. RCS has set expectations for counselor productivity at Vet Centers. For example, one expectation is for counselors to achieve an average of 1.5 visits for each hour they provide direct ser

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

Based on the limited procedures GAO performed in reviewing the independent public accounting firm's (IPA) financial audit of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute's (PCORI) fiscal year 2019 financial statements, GAO did not identify any significant issues related to the financial statement audit that it believes require attention. Had GAO performed additional procedures, other matters

Coal mine operator bankruptcies have led to the transfer of about $865 million in estimated benefit responsibility to the federal government's Black Lung Disability Trust Fund (Trust Fund), according to DOL estimates. The Trust Fund pays benefits when no responsible operator is identified, or when the liable operator does not pay. GAO previously testified in June 2019 that it had identified three

The numbers of opioid prescriptions and claims for the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Disability Insurance (DI) program have each declined nationally in recent years, but rates vary widely across the country. National trends show both peaking between 2010 and 2014 and then declining. GAO's analysis shows counties with the highest rates of both were concentrated in the Southeast (see figur

Within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has established staffing requirements for its Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (Family Caregiver Program) that allow for variation, but its staffing data are not complete or accurate. VHA requires its local VA medical centers (VAMC) to have at least one Caregiver Support Coordinator t

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), veterans' use of nursing home care increased 3 percent, from an average daily census of 37,687 to 38,880 veterans, from fiscal years 2012 to 2017. VA projects that use will increase 16 percent from fiscal years 2017 to 2022 with the aging of Vietnam War veterans. VA's nursing home expenditures increased 17 percent (8 percent adjusted for infla

GAO has issued several reports recommending that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) take action to help ensure its facilities provide veterans with timely access to medical care. VA has taken a number of steps to address GAO's recommendations to improve wait-time measurement and its appointment scheduling policy. However, additional actions are needed to fully address most of GAO's recommend

This testimony summarizes information in our recent report on abuse of nursing home residents and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) oversight. CMS is responsible for ensuring nursing homes meet federal quality standards, including that residents are free from abuse. CMS enters into agreements with state survey agencies to conduct surveys of the state's homes and to investigate c