  VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 09-29-2006 #1 |
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VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 09-29-2006 #1 |
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VA NOT SPENDING MONEY BUDGETED FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE -- While VA mental health clinics go understaffed and veterans wait months for appointments, GAO testimony shows the VA spent less than half of the $100 million budgeted for mental health in 2005 and only three-quarters of the $200 million in 2006.
It really is time to ask the question: Can Jim Nicholson, Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, do anything right? How can the man charged with the care of
our veterans NOT spend the money budgeted for mental health care while
that care is "virtually inaccessible?"...that story here... Nicholson has misled Congress...that
story here... Nicholson has cooked the VA's
books...that story here... There have been calls for Nicholson's resignation. Now, there is a very good reason for him to resign. He is incompetent! Allowing veterans to go untreated for mental health needs while there is plenty of money in the VA budget is an act so morally reprehensible as to be beyond belief. In less than two years Nicholson has brought the VA to its knees. Can we take two more years? No! Can Jim Nicholson do anything right? Yes! He has shown that he can take the largest and finest healthcare system in the country and systemically dismantle it by deliberately seeking less funding than needed. Then, he withholds those funds so veterans cannot get the healthcare which they have earned. Here is the GAO's latest testimony regarding the VA's dismal record of healthcare in the area of mental health. Something to note: Democrats are
lambasting the VA for not keeping their promises to veterans by
providing needed mental health care...story here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/ Full testimony here... http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d061119t.pdf Highlights here... http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d061119thigh.pdf ---------------
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides mental health services to veterans with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse disorders. To address gaps in services needed by veterans, VA approved a mental health strategic plan in 2004. VA planned to increase its fiscal year 2005 allocations for plan initiatives by $100 million above fiscal year 2004 levels. VA also planned to increase its fiscal year 2006 allocations for plan initiatives by $200 million above fiscal year 2004 levels---composed of $100 million for continuation of fiscal year 2005 initiatives and an additional $100 million identified in the President’s fiscal year 2006 budget request. GAO was asked to provide preliminary information on VA’s allocation and use of funding for mental health strategic plan initiatives in fiscal years 2005 and 2006. A report on this work will be issued later in the fall of 2006. GAO reviewed VA reports and documents on mental health strategic plan initiatives and conducted interviews with VA officials from headquarters, 4 of 21 health care networks, and 7 medical centers. VA delegates decision making to its health care networks for most budget and management responsibilities regarding medical center operations, and medical centers receive most of their resources from the networks.
What GAO found In fiscal year 2005, VA headquarters allocated $88 million of the $100 million VA officials intended for mental health strategic plan initiatives. VA allocated about $53 million directly to medical centers and certain offices based on proposals submitted for funding and other approaches targeted to specific initiatives. VA solicited submissions from networks for specific initiatives to be carried out at their individual medical centers through requests for proposals (RFPs). In addition, VA headquarters officials said that VA allocated $35 million for this purpose through VA’s general resource allocation system to its 21 health care networks on a retrospective basis. VA made this decision several months after resources had been provided to the networks through the general allocation system. Moreover, VA did not notify network and medical center officials that these funds were to be used for plan initiatives.Health care network and medical center officials interviewed told GAO that they were not aware these allocations had been made. As a result, it is likely that some of these funds were not used for plan initiatives. Moreover, VA did not allocate the approximately $12 million remaining of the $100 million for fiscal year 2005 because, according to VA officials, there was not enough time during the fiscal year to do so. Medical center officials said they used the funds allocated directly to their medical centers for plan initiatives that included new mental health services and more of the services they already provided. For example, two medical centers used funds allocated to them through RFPs or other targeted approaches to increase the number of mental health providers at community based outpatient clinics. One of those medical centers also started a new 6-week PTSD day treatment program. However, some medical center officials reported that they did not use all funds allocated for plan initiatives by the end of fiscal year 2005, due in part to the length of time it took to hire new staff. In fiscal year 2006, as of September 20, 2006, VA headquarters had allocated $158 million of the $200 million planned for mental health strategic plan initiatives. VA allocated about $92 million of these funds directly to medical centers and certain offices to support new initiatives, using RFPs and other targeted funding approaches. VA also allocated about $66 million to support recurring costs of the continuing initiatives from the prior fiscal year. As of September 20, 2006, about $42 million of the $200 million for fiscal year 2006 had not been allocated. Officials from seven medical centers we interviewed reported that they had used funds for plan initiatives, such as the creation of a new intensive mental health case management program. Officials at some medical centers reported that they did not anticipate problems using all of the funds allocated to them through RFPs and other targeted approaches in fiscal year 2006. However, officials at other medical centers were less certain that they would use all of these funds for plan initiatives by the end of fiscal year 2006. GAO discussed the information in this statement with VA officials who agreed that the data are accurate, and provided updated data which are incorporated as appropriate. ---------------
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