United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2004-06-22 monographic deposited born digital 24 p. GA 1.13:GAO-04-718 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-718 P0b002ee180375f6d f:d04718 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-718 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-718 GAO-04-718 User fees Property and supply management Contract administration Contract costs Service contracts Procurement practices Contract oversight Medical services rates Medical supplies Federal procurement Drugs Federal supply systems Health care cost control Medical equipment Prices and pricing Audits Veterans hospitals Health care costs Health care programs Health care services Discounts GSA Federal Supply Schedule Other Written Product A10604 The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides healthcare to millions of veterans at VA's medical centers and healthcare facilities across the country. To support veterans, VA manages a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program and a national contract program. Both use VA's sizeable buying power to provide VA and other federal agencies discounts on medical products and services. To cover its costs in running the FSS program, VA charges its customers a user fee. Although sales through VA's FSS and national contracts totaled almost $7 billion in fiscal year 2003, concerns have been raised about the efficiency of these contract programs. GAO was asked to determine whether the FSS and national contracts have provided medical products at favorable prices and to identify opportunities to improve purchasing practices and increase savings. GAO was also asked to determine if VA's user fee is sufficient to cover program cost. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-718/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-718.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-718/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-718.pdf GAO-04-718 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-718 Other Written Product GAO-04-718; Contract Management: Further Efforts Needed to Sustain VA's Progress in Purchasing Medical Products and Services; User fees Property and supply management Contract administration Contract costs Service contracts Procurement practices Contract oversight Medical services rates Medical supplies Federal procurement Drugs Federal supply systems Health care cost control Medical equipment Prices and pricing Audits Veterans hospitals Health care costs Health care programs Health care services Discounts GSA Federal Supply Schedule