-Caveat Lector- Report: VA Wastes $1 Million a Day By LARRY MARGASAK .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Stuck with old, decrepit hospitals and serving a declining population, the Department of Veterans Affairs is wasting up to $1 million a day on unneeded medical facilities, congressional investigators report. The General Accounting Office report was highly critical of the VA's proposal to fix the system, contending vested interests that might balk at closing facilities would be given too much control. Among these groups, the GAO said in a report obtained Wednesday, are medical schools, unions, veterans' organizations and state veterans agencies. They will be part of local committees that would, under current plans, choose their own leadership rather than allowing the VA to run the process, the investigators reported. For instance, medical schools might be reluctant to change long-standing business relationships with veterans hospitals, and unions could be reluctant to support staffing reductions, said the report, obtained by The Associated Press. The GAO, Congress' investigative agency, suggested using full-time VA planners or consultants with ``no vested interests in the geographic area'' to recommend changes in facilities, in consultation with the other groups. The VA health care system's past experience suggests that the system now contemplated ``could result in a protracted decision-making process that continues the expenditure of scarce resources on unneeded buildings'' - already totaling up to $1 million a day, said the report, by Stephen P. Backhus, the GAO's veterans' health care export. Backhus' report said the interest groups involved in the restructuring ``may have vested interests in maintaining the status quo.'' He added, ``In our view, this arrangement could lead to conflict among the various stakeholders sitting on the committees if they attempt to protect their interests at the expense of the overall process.'' Veterans Affairs spokeswoman Laurie Trantner said in response, ``We recognize that the current health care delivery costs money and there's a potential for savings. We are working cooperatively with the (congressional) committees to reach a solution that will benefit veterans.'' She said committees to be formed to help change the system ``will balance local interests and national priorities that will serve local veterans' needs.'' The report was prepared for Rep. Terry Everett, R-Ala., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on oversight and investigations. He said the agency must address ``findings that one in four veterans' health care dollars'' is spent on operating and maintaining facilities that include ``empty old buildings and 5 million square feet of vacant space.'' He said experts have described the VA health care system as ``archaic, decrepit, dysfunctional and inefficient.'' The backdrop for the wasted spending is a VA hospital system that dropped from 49,000 patients a day in 1989 to 21,000 in 1998, with nearly half the decline occurring in the past three years. The use of VA hospitals is further expected to ``decline significantly over the next 20 years,'' as the veteran population drops from the current 25 million to an estimated 16 million by 2020, said the report. The GAO gave the VA credit for beginning, in 1995, to transform itself from a hospital operator to a health care provider that relies on community-based medical and residential facilities and outpatient services. At the same time, the report said that over the next two decades, most VA health care buildings will approach or pass their useful life expectancy. More than 40 percent have already operated for more than 50 years, including almost 200 built before 1900. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
