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                    Most Recent Reports**1 - 20 of 1624 Reports**
	
	

	
	  **Released on   Mar 28, 2024**
          Veterans Community Care Program: Additional Information on VA Statutory Appointment Timeliness Measurements is Needed
    GAO-24-105308
      Published:   Mar 28, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Mar 28, 2024
.
    VA's community care program refers eligible veterans to a health care provider in their community if they can't access care at a VA facility. VA has had challenges scheduling community care appointments in a timely way. So, Congress required VA to measure elapsed time between and across points in the care process, specifically when: Care is requested A referral is sent to a community care...
      **Released on   Mar 27, 2024**
          Veterans Health Care: Improvements Needed in Patient Tracking for Non-Biological Implantable Medical Devices
    GAO-24-106621
      Published:   Mar 27, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Mar 27, 2024
.
    What happens when there's a recall of a pacemaker, hip implant, or other implantable medical device—after it's already in a patient? If the patient is a veteran, the Veterans Health Administration needs to ensure that health care providers can contact them for follow-up care. But VHA's policies don't ensure that all such devices are effectively trackable. For example, if VHA needed to identify all patients...
      **Released on   Mar 21, 2024**
          Service Members Transitioning to Civilian Life: Agencies Can Improve Warm Handovers for Additional Assistance
    GAO-24-106248
      Published:   Mar 21, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Mar 21, 2024
.
    Transitioning from military to civilian life can be difficult for some service members as they may lose access to housing, pay, healthcare, and more. DOD provides certain at-risk service members with a person-to-person connection—known as a "warm handover"—to support agencies like VA. But DOD doesn't ensure that warm handovers take place. From April 2021-March 2023, more than 4,300 at-risk service members didn't receive this assistance...
      **Released on   Feb 29, 2024**
          VA Health Care: Organization of the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
    GAO-24-106023
      Published:   Feb 29, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Feb 29, 2024
.
    In this Q&A report, we review how the Department of Veterans Affairs has organized its suicide prevention program. In 2017, VA combined its suicide prevention and mental health programs into one office. Officials said that this facilitated internal coordination, but that suicide prevention staff had less autonomy to make decisions. VA decided to move the suicide prevention program back into a separate office in 2023—in...
      **Released on   Feb 15, 2024**
          VA Health Care: Opportunities Exist to Further Meet Student Veterans' Mental Health Needs
    GAO-24-106620
      Published:   Feb 15, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Feb 15, 2024
.
    Research suggests that student veterans are more likely to suffer from mental health challenges, including depression and anxiety, than other students. To help, the Veterans Health Administration partners with some colleges and universities to provide campus-based mental health care and other support for student veterans. As of October 2023, roughly a quarter of VHA's health care systems offered this program. It may be hard for...
      **Released on   Feb 8, 2024**
          Veterans Affairs: Improvements Needed in Estimating Funding for Potential Future Health Emergencies
    GAO-24-106359
      Published:   Feb 8, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Feb 8, 2024
.
    Veterans Affairs received about $36.7 billion in supplemental funds for its COVID-19 pandemic response. VA used the funds to support services at VA medical facilities and for new efforts like expanding IT infrastructure for telehealth services. At the pandemic's start, the Veterans Health Administration requested funds to continue operations. But VHA didn't have the tools to develop a base estimate of potential costs for an...
      **Released on   Jan 31, 2024**
          Veterans Health Care: VHA Has Taken Steps towards Improving Vet Centers
    GAO-24-107170
      Published:   Jan 31, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 31, 2024
.
    This testimony discusses our prior work on the Veterans Health Administration's Vet Centers. Some combat veterans experience trauma that can lead to mental illness, substance abuse, or other challenges. Vet Centers provide eligible veterans, servicemembers, and their families with counseling services. We previously recommended that VHA develop a plan to assess whether Vet Centers' services are meeting the needs of veterans, including those that may...
      **Released on   Jan 25, 2024**
          VA Acquisition Management: Oversight of Service Contracts Needing Heightened Management Attention Could Be Improved
    GAO-24-106312
      Published:   Jan 25, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 25, 2024
.
    VA increasingly relies on contractors for a wide range of services. But if contractors perform certain functions—e.g., providing legal advice or supporting budget prep—without additional oversight from government officials, they could pose risks to government decision-making and accountability. The Office of Management and Budget issued guidance to help agencies determine which contracted services need this oversight. However, VA has yet to fully implement this guidance...
      **Released on   Jan 17, 2024**
          Higher Education: VA Should Provide Additional Information to Its Staff and Schools on the Rogers STEM Scholarship
    GAO-24-106492
      Published:   Jan 17, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 17, 2024
.
    Over 7,000 veterans have used a Veterans Affairs' Rogers STEM scholarship to pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math. VA provides some training and guidance to help its staff process scholarship applications. But some STEM majors—like engineering and math—are easier to identify than others. Using VA data, we found over 100 instances where it appeared VA approved the scholarships for non-STEM majors. VA confirmed...
      **Released on   Jan 16, 2024**
          Veterans Health: VA Should Improve Its Monitoring of Severe Maternal Complications and Mental Health Screenings
    GAO-24-106209
      Published:   Jan 16, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 16, 2024
.
    Pregnant veterans are more likely to have physical and mental health conditions that may lead to adverse maternal outcomes or complications. The Department of Veterans Affairs currently monitors maternal deaths and screens pregnant and postpartum veterans for mental health conditions. But VA hasn't said when it will start reviewing screening results or what demographic data it will use when monitoring severe maternal complications to address...
      **Released on   Jan 9, 2024**
          VA Health Care: Office of Rural Health Efforts and Recommendations for Improvement
    GAO-24-107245
      Published:   Jan 11, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 9, 2024
.
    Access to health care is critical for veterans, particularly for the more than 8 million veterans that live in rural areas. The Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health funds research and initiatives aimed at improving the health of veterans living in rural areas. We testified about our prior work on the office's efforts. We found that while it supports many research projects, it doesn't...
      **Released on   Dec 21, 2023**
          VA Health Care: The Medically Underserved Facilities Initiative
    GAO-24-106306
      Published:   Dec 21, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Dec 21, 2023
.
    The Department of Veteran Affairs provides health care services to more than six million veterans, but many live in areas with limited access to care. In FY 2019, VA began designating facilities as "underserved" if the facility couldn't meet demands for care. These facilities identified ways to improve access, such as increasing telehealth. Officials at these facilities shared mixed responses about VA's efforts. Some said...
          Small Business Administration: Procedures for Reporting on Veteran-Owned Businesses Need Improvement
    GAO-24-106071
      Published:   Dec 21, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Dec 21, 2023
.
    Many veterans face challenges with raising capital to start small businesses—such as establishing credit and developing business relationships if they move to a new area after military service. The Small Business Administration must give special consideration to veterans for its lending programs. But the agency hasn't developed policies and procedures to do so. For example, SBA committed to processing applications for veteran-owned businesses promptly. However...
      **Released on   Dec 14, 2023**
          VA Health Care: Actions Needed to Improve Information Reported on Mobile Medical Units
    GAO-24-106331
      Published:   Dec 14, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Dec 14, 2023
.
    The Department of Veterans Affairs uses mobile medical units to provide primary and specialty care to veterans with limited access to health care, such as those in rural areas. The units can help reduce veterans' travel burdens and address provider shortages. Each year, VA reports to Congress about the units, but the reports contain inaccuracies and lack context. For example, some units reported as active...
      **Released on   Dec 7, 2023**
          Armed Forces Retirement Home: Congress and Agency Management Should Take Actions to Improve Financial Sustainability
    GAO-24-106171
      Published:   Dec 7, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Dec 7, 2023
.
    The Armed Forces Retirement Home is an independent federal entity that provides housing, health care, and other services to certain retired and disabled military personnel. AFRH faces serious financial challenges as revenues decrease and costs increase over time. The trust fund that finances AFRH's operations is at risk of being exhausted in 20 years. AFRH has some proposals to address these challenges, but it needs...
      **Released on   Dec 5, 2023**
          Veterans Health Administration: Actions Needed to Address Persistent Control Weaknesses and Related Risks in Employee Screening Processes
    GAO-24-107188
      Published:   Dec 6, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Dec 5, 2023
.
    This testimony discusses our prior work reviewing the Veterans Health Administration's employee screening processes. The Drug Enforcement Administration requires VHA medical centers to get a waiver before employing anyone with a controlled substance-related felony conviction whose job gives them access to such substances. But VHA doesn't have a policy to help it determine when to request such a waiver—so its screening process might miss individuals...
      **Released on   Nov 28, 2023**
          VA Disability Benefits: Board of Veterans' Appeals Should Address Gaps in Its Quality Assurance Process
    GAO-24-106156
      Published:   Nov 29, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Nov 28, 2023
.
    If the VA denies a veteran's benefit request, the veteran can bring the case to the Board of Veterans' Appeals. Congress has raised questions about the quality of the Board's decisions. We testified that as the Board faces large workloads and time pressure, quality assurance activities such as case reviews and decision monitoring are key tools for minimizing rework. But the Board could better use...
      **Released on   Nov 10, 2023**
          Veterans Health Care: VA Has Taken Steps to Improve Its Appointment Scheduling Process, but Additional Actions Are Needed
    GAO-24-107112
      Published:   Nov 10, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Nov 10, 2023
.
    When veterans need specialty health care—e.g., mental health or cardiology—timely delivery is key. We testified on our work in this area. The Department of Veterans Affairs has standards for how quickly these appointments are scheduled after referral. In January 2023, we reported that appointments at the VA were scheduled on time more often than community care appointments. We also noted that there were no VA...
      **Released on   Oct 30, 2023**
          VA Disability Benefits: Actions Needed to Address Challenges Reserve Component Members Face Accessing Compensation
    GAO-24-105400
      Published:   Oct 30, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Oct 30, 2023
.
    Members of the National Guard and the Reserves can claim Veterans Affairs disability benefits. But they may struggle to prove that disabilities are service-related when they only serve part-time—making it harder for them to access benefits. Although DOD and VA have guidance about disability benefits for those in the reserves, it doesn't cover the importance of documenting how health conditions are related to time on...
      **Released on   Oct 27, 2023**
          VA Whistleblowers: Retaliation Claim Investigations and Settlement Agreements  [Reissued with revisions on Oct. 27, 2023]
    GAO-24-107090
      Published:   Nov 2, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Oct 27, 2023
.
    Federal employees who are whistleblowers can help fight fraud, waste, and abuse, so laws protect them from retaliation, such as demotion and firing. We're looking into whistleblower retaliation cases at the Department of Veterans Affairs. This testimony covers our prior and ongoing work. Amid an uptick in all cases reported to the VA, whistleblower retaliation cases have increased from 577 in FY 2020 to 736...
    
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