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GAO-06-359R 1 (2006-02-01)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptatal0001 and id is 1 raw text is: i= i Accountability * Integrity * Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 February 1, 2006 The Honorable Daniel K. Akaka Ranking Member Committee on Veterans' Affairs United States Senate The Honorable Lane Evans Ranking Member Committee on Veterans' Affairs House of Representatives Subject: Veterans Affairs: Limited Support for Reported Health Care Management Efficiency Savings The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides a uniform set of health care services to eligible veterans who enroll to receive such care and seek it from VA. These services include preventive and primary health care, a full range of outpatient and inpatient services, and prescription drugs. VA provides additional services, such as nursing home and dental care and other services, as required by law for some veterans and makes these services available to other veterans on a discretionary basis as resources permit. Most of the nation's 24 million veterans are eligible for some aspect of VA's health care services if they choose to enroll. In fiscal year 2005, about 7 million veterans were enrolled to receive VA health care services. In that year, VA planned to provide health care services to about 5 million veterans based on its initial budget request of $ 30.2 billion.' Funding for VA's health care program has increased substantially in recent years. Congress appropriates funds annually for VA to provide health care services to eligible veterans. Congressional budget deliberations start when the President 1For fiscal year 2005, the President requested $27.8 billion in appropriations and $2.4 billion in estimated collections, together amounting to a request for $30.2 billion in discretionary budget authority to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for providing health care. See Budget of the United States Government-Appendix, Fiscal Year 2005, at 869-70, 873. In the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005, Pub. L. No. 108-447, div. 1, 118 Stat. 3285, 3287-89 (Dec. 8, 2004), Congress ultimately appropriated $28.3 billion for health care. Later in fiscal year 2005, in response to the President's request for $975 million in supplemental appropriations, Congress provided an additional $1.5 billion in supplemental appropriations for veterans' health care to be available through fiscal year 2006. See the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-54, title VI, 119 Stat. 499, 563-64 (Aug. 2, 2005). Finally, in the Budget of the United States Government-Appendix, Fiscal Year 2006, the President reported that VA's estimated collections for fiscal year 2005 would be $1.95 billion. Id. at 893. GAO-06-359R Limited Support for VA's Efficiency Savings

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