Inpatient Care Experiences Differ for VA and Non-VA Hospitals, With Different Patterns by Health, Race, and Ethnicity

This article estimates differences and difference-in-differences in patient experiences for Veterans Health Administration (VA) compared to non-VA patients in 2017, when there was concern about the health quality of VA hospitals, and in 2021, the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, both overall, and for specific patient groups. We used data from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. In 2017, HCAHPS performance was somewhat better for non-VA than for VA hospitals, with Care Transition being the only measure for which VA hospitals performed better on average. By 2021, HCAHPS performance was better for VA than for non-VA hospitals for all but two measures (Quietness and Discharge Information), for which there were no differences from non-VA hospitals. In 2017, the VA provided worse experiences than non-VA hospitals for Black and poor-health patients; in 2021, VA hospitals outperformed non-VA hospitals for these, and all patient subgroups examined.