Most Popular Stories
- Proposed cosmetic surgery tax is wrinkling a few brows
- Doctors' neckties may transmit illness, AMA says
- Health plans will still pay for under-50 mammograms
- VA study: Communication is main cause of surgical errors
- Pennsylvania ambulatory surgery centers flourishing despite recession
- Study: Current EMRs don't have measurable impact on cost or quality
Featured Jobs
-
PICU RN Job in Texas
StaffPointe, LLC - near Galveston, TX -
Family Practice Job in Washington
StaffPointe, LLC - near Spokane, WA -
Nurse Practitioner - Oncology
AVA Search Group - Eastern, TX -
Apheresis RN Job in Texas
StaffPointe, LLC - near Galveston, TX -
Urologist Job in Texas
StaffPointe, LLC - southwest, TX
Events
- Security Audits: Is Your Organization Prepared and In Compliance?
Dec.3 at 12 pm CT - Harvard Business School 7th Healthcare Conference
January 30, 2010
Paid Research Reports
- Pricing and Reimbursement in Key Asia Pacific Markets
- Delivery Mechanisms for Large Molecule Drugs: Successes and failures of leading technologies and key drivers for market success
- The Cardiovascular Market Outlook to 2013: Competitive landscape, global market analysis and pipeline analysis
- Intellectual Property and Outsourcing in China: Minimizing risk whilst maximizing return on investment
- Health Care Equipment & Supplies: Global Industry Guide
- 2009 Trends to Watch: Healthcare Technology
FEATURES >> YouTube | Top acute-care hospitals | Women in Health IT | Top BlackBerry Apps | Commentary
TOPICS >> Stimulus | Health Reform | CMS News | Finance | EMRs | Mobile Healthcare | Hospital Leadership Blog
Free Newsletter
FierceHealthcare is the leading source of healthcare management news for healthcare industry executives. Join 46,000+ healthcare industry insiders who get FierceHealthcare via daily email. Sign up today!
Popular Topics
- Medicare
- health plans
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Insurance
- Electronic Medical Records (EMRs)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Medicaid
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- healthcare system
- prescription drugs
- health reform
- pharmaceutical companies
VA loses track of $300M in mental health funds
It seems that the Department of Veterans' Affairs fumbled the ball when it came to managing its $300 million mental health services budget. A report by the Government Accountability Office has found that the VA didn't spend the $300 million, and didn't keep good track of the money it did spend. The agency already spends big bucks on mental health, or about $2 billion in fiscal 2006, but the idea was to boost spending a bit to cover gaps in its services.
In 2004, the VA set out to improve treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and substance-abuse problems, adding a total of $300 million between 2005 and 2006 to do so. The idea was to fund new services at its hospitals, medical centers and clinics. As it turned out, however, the VA fell under budget by $12 million in fiscal 2005 and about $42 million in fiscal 2006. In some cases, meanwhile, it didn't tell its healthcare networks that the money was supposed to be used for mental-health initiatives. Right now, for about $112 million of the funds distributed, the VA can't tell whether the money was spent on mental health services upgrades or new programs.
Get more background on the VA mental health services picture:
- read this Washington Post article
Related Articles:
Mass. halts mental health admissions. Report
Mental health coverage still not equal. Report
Related Stories
- Feds question New Orleans hospital plans
- Policy experts propose new payment schemes
- TX county grapples with care for illegal immigrants
- Wisconsin moving ahead with hospital tax plans
- New Orleans official challenges death rate data
- NJ fights hospital infection disclosures
- NY legislators seek changes in hospital closure plan
- LSU seeks $200M to rebuild charity services
- Palliative medicine on the rise
- AL considers central trauma dispatch center
Comments
Post new comment
Home
| Subscribe | Advertise | Mobile Edition | RSS |
Privacy
| Site Map | List in Marketplace | Supplier MarketplaceTHE FIERCEMARKETS NETWORKFierceFinance | FierceFinanceIT | FierceComplianceIT | FierceHealthcare | FierceHealthFinance | FierceHealthIT | Hospital Impact | FierceMobileHealthcare | FierceCIO | FierceCIO:TechWatch | FierceContentManagement | FierceMobileIT | FierceGovernmentIT | FierceBiotech | FierceBiotech Research | FiercePharma | FierceVaccines | FierceBiotechIT | FiercePharma Manufacturing | FierceIPTV | FierceOnlineVideo | FierceTelecom | FierceVoIP | FierceBroadbandWireless | FierceDeveloper | FierceMobileContent | FierceWireless | FierceWireless:Europe© 2009 FierceMarkets, Inc. All rights reserved. |
![]() |





