VA and DOD Health Care: Agreements to Share Services and Other Resources Should Be Evaluated , June 30 , 2025
VA and DOD Health Care: Agreements to Share Services and Other Resources Should Be Evaluated , June 30 , 2025
From the report: "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) have shared mutually beneficial medical and other services through 185 sharing agreements, as of April 2025. For example, veterans may receive care at DOD facilities for services including surgery, orthopedics, and mental health. These agreements can result in greater access to care for veterans and cost savings for the federal government, in part because of the discounted rate that VA and DOD pay each other for health care delivered under such sharing agreements.
VA and DOD collect information on the characteristics of all sharing agreements as well as referrals of veterans to DOD facilities made through sharing agreements; however, the departments do not evaluate the effectiveness of sharing agreements. Officials told GAO that they use the number of sharing agreements and the continuation of agreements as measures of the agreements’ value. However, VA and DOD could maximize the benefits of these agreements by developing a performance management process, including establishing performance goals for the agreements, evaluating progress towards the goals, and making changes as appropriate.
VA and DOD have taken some steps to identify new or expanded sharing opportunities, including tracking space-sharing projects through a committee. However, the departments largely rely on local officials to identify potential areas for new and expanded sharing, which may result in missed opportunities for sharing. Developing a systematic, department-level process to identify and implement opportunities for new and expanded sharing agreements could help ensure the departments maximize sharing, which could in turn help improve patients’ access to care as well as reducing costs."
Authors - Government Accountability Office (GAO)Related Resources
