Independent Review of VA’s Special Disabilities Capacity Report for Fiscal Year 2024

Congress requires the VA OIG to report on the accuracy of VA’s annual special disabilities capacity report, which documents its capacity to provide specialized treatment for veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders, traumatic brain injuries, blindness, prosthetics and sensory aids, or mental health issues.

Regarding the FY 2024 capacity report, VA did not report blind rehabilitation bed data at facility or geographic service area levels as required, though it met the national data requirement. VA incorrectly reported FY 2023 data on veterans with opioid use disorder instead of FY 2024 data. The report did not capture data on community care services or the extent to which bed capacity was used at VA centers for spinal cord injuries and disorders. Including these data could provide insight into the care veterans receive in these categories and where they receive it.

As the OIG reported previously, VA cannot compare its mental health capacity with 1996 levels as federal law requires because of changes in defining and tracking treatment outcomes of veterans with mental illness. The OIG continues to believe such reporting would not provide Congress with assurances that VA’s capacity is adequate to provide care to these high-risk veterans. Finally, some medical facilities transitioned to VA’s new electronic health record system, which affected the completeness of some reported data elements at facility, regional, and national levels. The OIG notes that VA could give Congress better insight into capacity by updating measurement definitions, which would allow consistent comparison as more facilities use the new system.