Veterans' Health Care

Focus group participants with whom GAO spoke expressed diverse views about the care provided by Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) facilities and the role VA should play in a reformed health care system. The perspectives of the 127 veterans who participated are not statistically representative of the nation's 27 million veterans. Still, many of the views expressed are consistent with the findings in other studies. For example, some of the concerns expressed in the focus groups about VA health care--such as excessive waiting times and poor customer service--have been highlighted in earlier GAO reports. Apprehension about changes was a recurrent theme running through the focus groups. Veterans expressed concern that changes could diminish or eliminate veterans' health benefits, that allowing nonveterans to use VA facilities could detract from care for veterans, that VA would lose its individuality and its focus on the special health care needs of veterans, and that veterans who are dependent on VA could be hurt emotionally. Some focus group participants thought that VA remained the appropriate vehicle to provide health care for veterans. Others, however, said that VA can no longer adequately tend to these veterans and that other options should be explored.

GAO found that: (1) although the views expressed by the 127 veterans surveyed are very diverse and are not representative of the nationwide veteran population, many of their opinions are consistent with findings in previous studies; (2) veterans are apprehensive about possible changes that could diminish or eliminate their health benefits, allow nonveterans to use VA facilities and detract from their care, cause VA to lose its focus on the special health care needs of veterans, and emotionally hurt veterans who are dependent on VA; and (3) some veterans feel that VA is the appropriate vehicle to provide health care for veterans' service-connected needs, while other veterans feel that VA can no longer adequately tend to their needs and that other options to address veterans' health care needs should be developed.