The VHA delivers the best level of primary care in the United States and is very competitive internationally.
In 2003, the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine published a study that compared veterans health facilities on 11 measures of quality with fee-for-service Medicare. On all 11 measures, the quality of care in veterans facilities proved to be “significantly better.”
In the latest independent survey, 81 percent of VHA hospital patients express satisfaction with the care they receive, compared to 77 percent of Medicare and Medicaid patients.
In 1999, the Institute of Medicine issued a groundbreaking study, titled To Err is Human, that still haunts health care professionals. It found that up to 98,000 people die of medical errors in American hospitals each year. This means that as many as 4 percent of all deaths in the United States are caused by such lapses as improperly filled or administered prescription drugs—a death toll that exceeds that of AIDS, breast cancer, or even motor vehicle accidents.
So, VHA is really bad? An overtaxed system dropped and obscured some appointments?
Go here http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0501.longman.html
for good insights about why free market conservatives shake in fear of the VHA accomplishments in the last 20 years! Phillip Longman discusses his book, Best Care Anywhere, with Paul Glastris, Editor in Chief of the Washington Monthly. Longman’s book was based on this January/February Washington Monthly Article.