Improving Health Care for Servicemembers and Veterans

• DOD and VA face challenges in meeting the health care and disability evaluation needs of servicemembers returning from the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as veterans of those military operations.


• As of October 2008 , 33,000 servicemembers have been wounded in action, and more than 850,000 servicemembers have left active duty and are eligible for VA care.


• Returning servicemembers and veterans may have a range of health care needs, including care for injuries such as amputations and burns, as well as treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).


• In recent years, problems have been identified with DOD and VA efforts to coordinate care and services for this population; manage their transition from DOD to VA care; screen, diagnose, and treat TBI and PTSD; and share medical records between the two departments.


• In addition, DOD and VA operate separate disability evaluation processes that together may take months or years to complete. Although DOD and VA have taken steps to improve the health care delivery and processes for determining disability benefits, continued efforts and oversight are needed to ensure that returning servicemembers and veterans receive the care and assistance they need.

^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done

• VA needs to evaluate the TBI screening tool it is using for clinical validity and reliability in identifying veterans at risk for a TBI. Currently, VA does not know how effective the TBI screening tool is in identifying veterans who are at risk for a TBI and whether the TBI screening tool would yield consistent results if administered to the same veteran more than once.

  Highlights of GAO-08-276 (PDF)

• DOD and VA should develop complete plans to evaluate the success of their joint disability evaluation pilot and to guide potential large-scale expansion decisions. Such plans should include criteria for determining how much improvement should be achieved under the pilot on various performance measures, such as decision timeliness and servicemember satisfaction, to merit implementing the joint process throughout DOD and VA.

  Highlights of GAO-08-1137 (PDF)

• DOD and VA should sustain collaborative executive focus on the pilot and retain knowledgeable staff by, for example, continuing the agencies' joint Senior Oversight Committee or transferring the responsibilities to an equally staffed structure with the same level of executive commitment.

  Highlights of GAO-08-1137 (PDF)

^ Back to topKey Reports

Veterans' Disability Benefits

VA Health Care

Military Disability System

Military and Veterans' Benefits

DOD and VA

Child Care and Development Fund

More Reports