Pulling the plug

HEADNOTE

Life support for unneeded veterans hospitals costs $1 million a day. Can the VA convince Congress to let some die?

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Veterans

hospitals are among the few remaining symbols of what's good about government in communities across America. They're prized employers. They serve honorable clients. They demonstrate the concern and clout of congressional representatives. As a result, they're almost impossible to close. But the Veterans Affairs Department has come up with what it hopes is a foolproof plan to shut down nearly a dozen unneeded hospitals.

The plan also would add outpatient clinics and shift the location of many specialized services, but its true test will be closing hospitals. VA officials have spent four years collecting and crunching data to align an aging physical plant with 21st century health care needs. VA's Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services initiative got under way in 2000 after the General Accounting Office found that the department probably was wasting $1 million a day maintaining unneeded buildings and land (GAO/T-HEHS-99-173).