THE VA HEALTH-CARE SYSTEM - AN UNRECOGNIZED NATIONAL SAFETY NET

The dominance of local health care markets in conjunction with variabl e public funding results in a national patchwork of ''safety nets'' an d beneficiaries in the United States rather than a uniform system. Thi s DataWatch describes how the recently reorganized Department of Veter ans Affairs serves as a coordinated, national safety-net provider and characterizes the veterans who are not supported by the market-based s ystem.