Health Care

Demonstration Project Concerning Future Structure of Veterans' Health Program Gao ID: T-HRD-92-53 August 11, 1992

Under various health care reform proposals, including employer-mandated and universal health insurance, demand for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) inpatient care could drop dramatically. Congress, concerned about the resulting excess capacity at VA facilities, is considering legislation--H.R. 5263--that would authorize up to seven VA facilities with excess capacity to treat the Medicare-eligible dependents and survivors of military retirees. Medicare-eligible veterans now being denied care at facilities would also be able to participate in the demonstration project. The facilities would be allowed to obtain and retain reimbursements for covered services provided to program participants by Medicare. GAO agrees with the demonstration project's objective of testing the cost-effectiveness of such interagency sharing, but GAO believes that VA should proceed cautiously to ensure that the project's goals can be achieved.



The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.