Peace Corps: Long-Needed Improvements to Volunteers' Health Care System
NSIAD-91-213
Published: Jul 03, 1991. Publicly Released: Jul 03, 1991.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Peace Corps' health care system for its volunteers, focusing on whether: (1) volunteers received a level of health care comparable to what they would have received in the United States; and (2) former volunteers with service-related medical conditions were aware of and receiving their health care entitlement.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Peace Corps | The Director, Peace Corps, should follow through on the initiatives announced and those it has begun to implement, including a plan to institute an independent evaluation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations or a similar organization, to improve the Peace Corps' health care system. |
The Peace Corps has implemented the recommendation to institute an independent evaluation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations. It has also followed through on those improvements planned at the time the review was completed.
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| Peace Corps | The Director, Peace Corps, should inform all former volunteers of the FECA entitlement. Returned Peace Corps volunteer groups, the National Council for Returned Volunteers, and the Peace Corps publications sent to former volunteers could be used to disseminate this information. |
The agency issued a handbook describing how to file claims and distributed it to volunteers attending the annual meeting in August 1991. The Peace Corps has also sent mailings to approximately 100,000 former volunteers notifying them of their health care benefits. For all practical purposes, this implements the GAO recommendation to notify all former volunteers.
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Full Report
Topics
Employee medical benefitsHealth care personnelHealth care servicesHiring policiesInternational cooperationMedical examinationsMedical expense claimsPersonnel managementQuality controlVolunteer servicesQuality of care