Veterans Affairs Health Care: Addition to GAO's High Risk List and Actions Needed for Removal
Abstract
VA operates one of the largest health care delivery systems in the nation, including 150 medical centers and more than 800 community-based outpatient clinics. Enrollment in the VA health care system has grown significantly, increasing from 6.8 to 8.9 million veterans between fiscal years 2002 and 2013. Over this same period, Congress has provided steady increases in VA s health care budget, increasing from $23.0 billion to $55.5 billion. Risks to the timeliness, cost effectiveness, quality, and safety of veterans health care, along with other persistent weaknesses GAO and others have identified in recent years, raised serious concerns about VA s management and oversight of its health care system. Based on these concerns, GAO designated VA health care a high-risk area and added it to GAO s High Risk List in 2015. Since 1990, GAO has regularly updated the list of government operations that it has identified as high risk due to their vulnerability to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement or the need for transformation to address economy, efficiency, or effectiveness challenges. This statement addresses (1) the criteria for the addition to and removal from the High Risk List, (2) specific areas of concern identified in VA health care that led to its high-risk designation; and (3) actions needed to address the VA health care high-risk area.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 29, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA617201
Entities
People
- Debra A. Draper
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office