THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 10, 1995 TAG: 9505100460
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
The Department of Veterans Affairs' ability to provide quality health care to veterans is threatened by its failure to carry out needed reforms, a congressional investigator says.
David Baine of the General Accounting Office told a House subcommittee Tuesday that ``a complete re-evaluation of the VA health care system appears needed.''
``Absent such an effort, use of VA hospitals will likely continue to decline to a point where VA's ability to provide quality care and support its secondary missions will be jeopardized,'' Baine said. The GAO is the investigative wing of Congress.
In response to previous GAO criticisms, the department has insisted that it is shifting to more outpatient care and consolidating some programs to serve a veterans' population that is aging and shrinking.
VA Inspector General Stephen Trodden, joining Baine before the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee panel, said the VA health care system must confront serious management problems. But he also chided Congress for blocking reforms that VA has tried to carry out.
When the VA suggested several years ago that eight underused surgical units be consolidated, more than 60 congressional offices wrote letters trying to save the VA presence in their region. by CNB