Analysis of Potential Adjustments to the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) System.

摘要

The Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) system was instituted by the VHA in 1997 in a continuing effort to improve the allocation of congressionally appropriated health care funds to the 21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs). VERA was designed to fulfill this mission in an equitable, understandable, and efficient manner as well as to address the complexities of providing health care to veterans with service-connected disabilities, low incomes, and special health care needs (e.g., spinal cord injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder) Although a number of studies have indicated that VERA is helping the VHA meet its goals and budget objectives, these studies have also suggested areas for improvement, such as revising patient classifications and developing methods to monitor and improve access to care for all veterans (Price Waterhouse LLP and the Lewin Group, Inc 1998; General Accounting Office, 1997, 1998; AMA Systems, Inc., The Center for Naval Analysis Corporation, March and July 2000). In contrast to earlier VHA allocation systems, which were based largely on historical costs, VERA bases its allocation of funds primarily on the number of veterans served. Thus, since VERA's inception, dramatic shifts in allocations have occurred from geographic areas with shrinking veteran populations to geographic areas with increasing numbers of veterans.