Improvements in VA health services for women veterans

Since the early 1980s, health care for women veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has improved considerably, although problems still remain. The lack of privacy for women at many VA facilities and the provision of incomplete physical examinations for women continue to be problematic issues. A 1992 congressional appropriation of $7.5 million has substantially increased the awareness of women veterans health care in the VA. This appropriation, from Public Law 102-585, Veterans Health Care Act of 1992, Title I-Women Veterans Health Programs, has allowed VA to expand services for women veterans. Using these funds, VA has established eight comprehensive women veterans health centers, 23 full-time women veterans coordinators, and four regional stress disorder teams. This paper describes these and other important new initiatives and discusses how they will serve as the foundation on which VA expands care for women within the context of a changing health care system.