The Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ medical facilities outperform non-VA hospitals yet again in two nationwide surveys conducted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
In the latest patient satisfaction survey, 79% of VA hospitals received a four or five star rating, compared with only 40% of non-VA counterparts that did so.
Patients have given VA hospitals better ratings than non-VA facilities for nine consecutive quarters in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), the latest of which was conducted between October 2022 and September 2023.
In the hospital quality survey, more than 58% of VA hospitals received a 4 or 5 star rating compared to 40% of non-VA facilities. This is the only second year that VA hospitals have been included in the survey. The VA outperformed non-VA hospitals last year as well.
To maintain the level of service that has won the VA high ratings from veterans, AFGE urges the agency to add more direct care staff to correspond with the increasing number of veterans entering the system. The VA, for example, needs to ensure sufficient funds and hiring within the VA to meet the goals of the PACT Act, the law that expands health care benefits to 3.5 million veterans who were exposed to toxic substances while in service.
Congress should also stop diverting funds from VA to private care, which countless studies suggest is at best no better and often of lower quality than VA care. Congress should instead invest in recruitment and retention and infrastructure improvements to make the VA a desirable employer that continues to provide veterans the best care available.
AFGE leaders report from the field that the VA has been hiring only managers and that the agency’s hiring assertions and vacancy rates in news reports are misleading.
“When VA doesn’t have a firm compass of staffing requirements or care about true oversight of those staffing requirements in policy or service lines, veterans may get an initial access, but they may not see their provider again for a long time,” said MJ Burke, AFGE National VA Council first executive vice president. “Those seeking mental health care, for example, may not see their provider again until 100 days later.”
AFGE leaders are hoping the agency will begin hiring front-line workers soon. The VA has said it’s adding 5,000 employees in fiscal 2025, but it’s unclear which positions and where. AFGE is working with Congress to sort out contradictory staffing numbers.
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