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HEHS-00-164R 1 (2000-08-21)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaallb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 




   SGAO
        Accountability  Integrity *Reliability
United States General Accounting Office                             Health, Education, and
Washington, DC 20548                                              Human Services Division



            B-285901

            August 21, 2000

            The Honorable John D. Dingell
            House of Representatives

            Subject: VA Health Care: Supply of Nursing Home Beds Is Sufficient to 2005 in the
                     Detroit, Michiaan, Area

            Dear Mr. Dingell:

            This letter responds to your request that we review the Department of Veterans
            Affairs (VA) needs assessment of nursing home care in the Detroit, Michigan,
            area. The purpose of VA's assessment was to determine whether the number of
            available nursing home beds would be sufficient to serve the long-term care needs
            of VA patients in that area through 2005. According to VA, this assessment was
            made in response to the August 3, 1999, House Report accompanying the
            Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and
            Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 (P.L. 106-74, Oct. 20, 1999). VA's
            assessment is shown in enclosure I.

            In summary, VA's conclusion in its assessment-that the supply of beds available
            to VA in 2005 will be sufficient to meet VA's needs-is likely to be correct. Even
            allowing for underestimates by VA regarding demand for nursing home care and
            overestimates of the supply of nursing home beds, the supply of beds available is
            likely to be sufficient to meet demand. To determine whether the number of
            nursing home beds would be adequate, VA used 1996 national nursing home use
            rates and current population projections to estimate the total demand for nursing
            home beds in 2005. It then used current Detroit-area data from the Health Care
            Financing Administration (HCFA) on nursing home bed availability to project the
            likely number of beds that would be available in 2005. VA concluded that the
            supply would be sufficient to meet projected demand.

            In reviewing VA's assessment, we looked at the various assumptions and
            estimates VA made and discussed the details of the assessment with the VA
            official responsible for the analysis. However, we did not independently verify the
            source data contained in the VA assessment. With this exception, we performed
            our work in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.


GAO/HEHS-00-164R VA Nursing Home Care

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