HEALTH CARE SERVICES TO THE CALIFORNIA VETERANS

Health care services to the California Veterans: A qualitative research design

Abstract

In order to transform healthcare faciliites, the Department of Veterans Affairs is undergoing a most important re-examination of its medical and healthcare mission. Therefore California Veterans Affairs gets ready to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century; one underlying subject of critical significance is which setting up assumptions will be selected and employed. The paper produces a qualitative research on the basis of above mentioned transformation.



Table of contents

Abstract2

Chapter I4

Statement of the problem4

Rationale4

Introduction4

Background of the study5

Explanation7

The Healthcare Marketplace7

Questionable Assumptions9

Chapter II19

Literature review19

VA Announces Insurance Premium Reductions19

Northern California23

Chapter III26

Methodology26

Method26

Participants and data collection26

Procedure27

Analyses30

Results31

Research question37

Implications and limitations38

Research question39

Conclusion39

References40

Appendix42

Chapter I

Statement of the problem

To further complicate matters, VA has come under fire in recent years on issues ranging from quality standards to high mortality rates. And in spite of the more than $13 billion spent annually on VA healthcare, legislators and veterans organizations have continued to voice concern about the state of veterans' healthcare services.

Rationale

Congress, on the other hand, has maintained such tight control over the VA hospital that it often constrains the ability of local administrators to operate efficiently.

Introduction

As part of the national effort to reform healthcare, the Department of Veterans Affairs is undergoing a major reassessment of its healthcare mission. As California Veterans Affairs prepares to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, one underlying issue of critical importance is which planning assumptions will be selected and employed. Will historical patterns of California veterans' use be interpreted as indicators of the market demand for Veterans Affairs health-care services, or will estimates of disease prevalence among veterans be used as indicators of future health-care need? If Veterans Affairs is to continue as a critical component of the nation's healthcare delivery system, its selection of a planning basis will have major implications for tomorrow's healthcare system. (Phelps, 2002, 55-78)

Background of the study

As the reform movement reshapes the U.S healthcare system, one area of concern for hospital administrators is the role the government will play in the delivery of services. Among the challenges facing the federal government during this time of change is the decision about how the veterans' healthcare system will fit into the re-designed structure. As one of the largest healthcare systems in the California Veterans Affairs (VA) now faces many of the same problems that have been gripping the private healthcare system for the past decade--and the re-suits of VA's efforts will have widespread implications for all healthcare administrators. (Phelps, 2002, 55-78)

VA's 172-hospital system is a complex network of institutions that have evolved over the past half century. In addition to its acute care hospital services, VA is the nation's largest provider of long-term care services. Consequently, as the veteran population is aging faster than the general population, success at VA could provide valuable lessons for the rest of the nation. Yet although it's physical and administrative structures have been shaped by California veterans' healthcare concerns, they have been influenced by political considerations as ...