Veterans Health Administration
Health service for former United States military personnel / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Veterans Health Administration?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health[2] that implements the healthcare program of the VA through a nationalized healthcare service in the United States, providing healthcare and healthcare-adjacent services to veterans through the administration and operation of 146 VA Medical Centers (VAMC) with integrated outpatient clinics, 772 Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC), and 134 VA Community Living Centers (VA Nursing Home) Programs. It is the largest division in the department, and second largest in the entire federal government, employing over 350,000 employees. All VA hospitals, clinics and medical centers are owned by and operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (as opposed to private companies), and all of the staff employed in VA hospitals are federal employees .[3] Because of this, veterans that qualify for VHA healthcare do not pay premiums or deductibles for their healthcare but may have to make copayments depending on the medical procedure.[4][5] VHA is not a part of the US Department of Defense Military Health System.
Agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 1865; 159 years ago (1865)[1] |
Preceding agency |
|
Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
Headquarters | Veteran Affairs Building 810 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, D.C., US 38°54′03″N 77°02′05″W |
Employees | 350,790 (2021)[2] |
Annual budget | FY2022: $97.5 billion USD (appropriated)[2] FY2023: $113.3 billion USD (advance appropriation) FY2023: $122.7 billion USD (budget request) |
Agency executives |
|
Parent department | United States Department of Veterans Affairs |
Website | www |
Many evaluations have found that by most measures VHA care is equal to, and sometimes better than, care provided in the private sector, when judged by standard evidence-based guidelines.[16] A 2009 Congressional Budget Office report on the VHA found that "the care provided to VHA patients compares favorably with that provided to non-VHA patients in terms of compliance with widely recognized clinical guidelines — particularly those that VHA has emphasized in its internal performance measurement system. Such research is complicated by the fact that most users of VHA's services receive at least part of their care from outside providers."[17]