Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation System PDF Download

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Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Government publications
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Author: Jeffrey Wasserman
Publisher: RAND Corporation
ISBN: 9780833030641
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Since April 1997, the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) System has served as the basis for allocating the congressionally appropriated medical care budget of the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to its regional networks. Concerned that the VERA system may not allocate resources in a manner consistent with its mission, Congress requested a study of the system and how allocations are affected by a number of factors, including infrastructure age, extreme weather conditions, and participation in medical education. This report describes the results of RAND's initial analysis. Because of the project's short time frame, only qualitative analysis was performed. Among the findings were that health care delivery costs may be affected by the age, physical condition, and historical significance of a VISN's capital infrastructure, factors for which VERA does not currently adjust. An additional finding was that VERA's current case-mix adjustment may not adequately account for differences in the average health status of veterans across networks. The influence on costs and access to care of factors such as weather extremes was less clear. In spite of its possible shortcomings, VERA appeared to be designed to meet its objectives more closely than did previous VA budget allocation systems. A plan was presented for further quantitative analysis of a number of critical issues that emerged from the current study.

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Category : Resource allocation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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The Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) system was instituted by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)-the organization in the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) that is responsible for providing health care to veterans-in 1997. The system was designed to improve the allocation of the congressionally appropriated medical care budget to the 22 regional service networks that comprise the VA health system. In recent legislation (H.R. 4635), the U.S. Congress asked the DVA to conduct a study on whether VERA adequately meets the special needs of some veterans. In response to this legislation, the VHA asked RAND's National Defense Research Institute to undertake this study. Specifically, this study examines the degree to which VERA accounts for differences in the age and geographic location of facilities, their patient case mixes, and other factors. The study also examines cost issues associated with affiliations between VA facilities and academic medical centers. The findings and recommendations from the study are documented in this report. Study findings should be of interest to VA personnel, Congress, and other policymakers-particularly those interested in health care for veterans. Health economists and policy planners may also have an interest in the findings. This research was sponsored by the DVA and was carried out jointly by RAND Health's Center for Military Health Policy Research and the Forces and Resources Policy Center of the National Defense Research Institute. The latter is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the unified commands, and the defense agencies.

Author: Jeffrey Wasserman
Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society
ISBN: 9780833033390
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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The Veterans Health Administration asked RAND to undertake a quantitative analysis of the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation System (VERA), which allocates the congressionally appropriated medical care budget to the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs). The modeling approach used in this analysis provides a tool that VA policymakers can use for making resource allocation decisions.

Author:
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ISBN:
Category : Resource allocation
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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The Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) system was instituted by the Veterans Health Administration (VERA) in 1997 in a continuing effort to improve the allocation of congressionally appropriated health care funds to the 21 Veterans Integrated Service Net- works (VISNs).1 VERA was designed to ensure that funds are allocated in an equitable, comprehensible, and efficient manner and to address the complexities of providing health care to veterans with service-connected disabilities, low incomes, and special health care needs. In contrast to earlier VHA allocation systems, which were based largely on historical costs, VERA bases its allocation of finds primarily on the number of veterans served (work- load). However, the veteran population has been shifting dramatically from some geographic areas to others. As a result, since the implementation of VERA, allocations to the VISNs have undergone similar shifts, from areas with shrinking veteran populations to areas with increasing numbers of veterans. These funding shifts prompted concerns in Congress that VERA was not distributing resources equitably across the VISNs, which could affect health care delivery to some veterans. In legislation enacted in late 2000 (Public Law No. 106-377), Congress directed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to determine "whether VERA may lead to a distribution of finds that does not cover the special needs of some veterans. The VHA contracted with the RAND National Defense Research Institute to examine three specific areas of concern expressed by Congress: * The extent to which allocations cover costs associated with maintaining older-than- average medical facilities, caring for populations with complex case mixes, facilities undergoing major consolidation, and/or rural versus urban location. * Issues associated with maintaining affiliations between the VA medical centers and academic medical centers. The extent to which weather differences influence costs.

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309466601
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 467

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Approximately 4 million U.S. service members took part in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Shortly after troops started returning from their deployments, some active-duty service members and veterans began experiencing mental health problems. Given the stressors associated with war, it is not surprising that some service members developed such mental health conditions as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and substance use disorder. Subsequent epidemiologic studies conducted on military and veteran populations that served in the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq provided scientific evidence that those who fought were in fact being diagnosed with mental illnesses and experiencing mental healthâ€"related outcomesâ€"in particular, suicideâ€"at a higher rate than the general population. This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the quality, capacity, and access to mental health care services for veterans who served in the Armed Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn. It includes an analysis of not only the quality and capacity of mental health care services within the Department of Veterans Affairs, but also barriers faced by patients in utilizing those services.

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Subcommittee on Health
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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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.

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Subcommittee on Health
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Author: Jeffrey Wasserman
Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society
ISBN: 9780833035608
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 138

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Book Description
The Veterans Health Administration asked RAND to conduct a quantitative analysis of the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) system, which allocates the congressionally appropriated medical care budget to the Veterans Integrated Service Networks. The study determines how particular patient and facility characteristics influence allocations to the service networks and simplifies and refines the models created in earlier RAND research to reflect policy changes and more recent data.