Uninsured veterans who will need to obtain insurance coverage under the patient protection and affordable care act

A Practical Review of Suicide Among Veterans: Preventive and Proactive Measures for Health Care Institutions and Providers

Suicide rates among veterans are higher than those of the general US population. Although veterans compose only 7.6% of the US population, nearly 14% of American adult suicides are among veterans. The rate of suicide is 1.5 times higher among all veterans and 2.1 times higher among female veterans compared with the general population. Only 47% of all veterans are enrolled in the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System, leaving a large number either not receiving health care or receiving it outside the VA. Recent legislation has improved access to care for veterans outside the VA, highlighting the need for a broad public health approach to address veteran suicide and the need for all health care institutions and clinicians to be familiar with the unique health concerns in this population. The purpose of this narrative review was to summarize the risk factors contributing to veteran suicide and to provide guidance on how to assess and mitigate these risks. Suicide is preventable through recognition of risk and prompt intervention. Health care providers both inside and outside the VA system are uniquely situated at the intersection of the many contributing factors to veteran suicide and should have a structured, proactive approach to address the problem.

Possible Effects on VA Outpatient Care of Expanding Medicaid: Implications of Having Access to Overlapping Publicly Funded Health Care Services

BACKGROUND

Because veterans who use Veterans Health Administration (VA) health care retain VA eligibility while enrolling in Medicaid, increasing Medicaid eligibility may create improved health system access but also create unique challenges for the quality and coordination of health care for veterans. We analyze how pre-Affordable Care Act (ACA) state Medicaid expansions influence VA and Medicaid-funded outpatient care utilization.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study uses Difference-in-difference analysis to evaluate association between pre-ACA 2001 Medicaid expansions and VA utilization in a natural experiment. Veterans aged 18-64 years living in a study state during the study period were the participants. Dependent variables included participants' proportion of outpatient care received at the VA, whether a participant recorded care with both Medicaid and the VA, and total outpatient utilization. We analyzed changes between two states that expanded Medicaid in 2001 against three similar states that did not from 1999 to 2006. We adjusted for age, non-White race, gender, disease burden, and distance to VA facilities. This study was approved by the Baylor College of Medicine Institutional Review Board (IRB), protocol number H-40441.

RESULTS

In total, 346,364 VA-enrolled veterans lived in the five study states during the time of our study, 70,987 of whom were enrolled in Medicaid for at least 1 month. For low-income veterans, Medicaid expansion was associated with a 2.88 percentage-point decline in the VA proportion of outpatient services (99% CI -3.26 to -2.49), and a 2.07-point increase (1.80 to 2.35) in the percentage of patients using both VA and Medicaid services. Results also showed small increases in total (VA plus Medicaid) annual per-capita outpatient visits among low-income veterans. We estimate that this corresponds to an annual reduction of 80,338 VA visits across study states (66,155-94,521).

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows usage shifts when Medicaid expansion allows veterans to gain access to non-VA care. It highlights increased potential for care-coordination challenges among VA patients as states implement ACA Medicaid expansion and policymakers consider additional public health insurance options, as well as programs like CHOICE and the MISSION Act that increase veteran choices of traditional VA and community care providers.

Did the Affordable Care Act Decrease Veteran Enrollment in the Veterans Health Administration?

BACKGROUND

Provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provided nonelderly individuals, including Veterans, with additional health care coverage options. This may impact enrollment for health care through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). National enrollment data was used to: (1) compare characteristics of enrollees at 3 time points in relation to the implementation of ACA insurance provisions (2012); and (2) examine enrollment trends.

METHODS

The study population included a 10% sample of Veterans under age 65 who were VHA enrollees between January 2012 and September 2015. Demographic and baseline characteristics were compared between 3 enrollment groups: pre-2012, pre-ACA (2012-2013), and post-ACA (2014-2015). Using an interrupted time series approach, we employed pooled logistic regression to assess trends in new VHA enrollment, overall, and by select enrollee characteristics.

RESULTS

A total of 429,833 enrollees were identified. Compared with pre-ACA enrollees, post-ACA enrollees were more likely to be older, have a service-connected disability, live further away from a VHA medical center, but less likely to use primary care within 6 months. The post-ACA quarterly trend in the odds of being a new enrollee was 3% lower (95% confidence interval: 0.96, 0.98) as compared with the pre-ACA trend. This decline was consistent across sex, geography, (all but 1) priority group, and state Medicaid-expansion subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

The ACA appears to have contributed to a decline in new VHA enrollment. In addition, the profile of newer enrollees differs from that of pre-ACA enrollees. The VHA must continue to monitor trends in demand in order to continue delivering high-quality, efficient care.

Effects of State-level Medicaid Expansion on Veterans Health Administration Dual Enrollment and Utilization: Potential Implications for Future Coverage Expansions

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to examine how pre-Affordable Care Act (ACA) state-level Medicaid expansions affect dual enrollment and utilization of Veterans Health Administration (VA) and Medicaid-funded care.

RESEARCH DESIGN

We employed difference-in-difference analysis to determine the association between pre-ACA Medicaid expansions in New York and Arizona in 2001 and VA utilization. Participants' dual enrollment in Medicaid and VA, the distribution of their annual hospital admissions and emergency department (ED) visits between VA and Medicaid were dependent variables. We controlled for age, race, sex, disease burden, distance to VA facilities and income-based eligibility for VA services.

MEASURES

Secondary data collected from 1999 to 2006 in 2 states expanding Medicaid and 3 demographically similar nonexpansion states. We obtained residency, enrollment and utilization data from VA's Corporate Data Warehouse and Medicaid Analytic Extract files.

RESULTS

For low-income Veterans, Medicaid expansion was associated with increased dual enrollment of 4.87 percentage points (99% confidence interval: 4.48-5.25), a 4.63-point decline in VA proportion of admissions (-5.87 to -3.38), and a 11.70-point decrease in the VA proportion of ED visits (-13.06 to -10.34). Results also showed increases in the number of total (VA plus Medicaid) annual per-capita hospitalizations and ED visits among the group of VA enrollees most likely to be eligible for expansion.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows slight usage shifts when Veterans gain access to non-VA care. It highlights the need to overcome care-coordination challenges among VA patients as states implement ACA Medicaid expansion and policymakers consider additional expansions of public health insurance programs such as Medicare-for-All.

Changes in Veterans' Coverage and Access to Care Following the Affordable Care Act, 2011-2017

Objectives. To evaluate the effect of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on US veterans' access to care.Methods. We used US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to compare measures of veterans' coverage and access to care, including primary care, for 3-year periods before (2011-2013) and after (2015-2017) ACA coverage provisions went into effect. We used difference-in-differences analyses to compare changes in Medicaid expansion states with those in nonexpansion states.Results. Coverage increased and fewer delays in care were reported in both expansion and nonexpansion states after 2014, with larger effects among low socioeconomic status (SES) and poor health subgroups. Coverage increases were significantly larger in expansion states than in nonexpansion states. Reports of cost-related delays, no usual source of care, and no checkup within 12 months generally improved in expansion states relative to nonexpansion states, but improvements were small; changes were mixed among veterans with low SES or poor health.Conclusions. Increases in insurance coverage among nonelderly veterans after ACA coverage expansions did not consistently translate into improved access to care. Additional study is needed to understand persisting challenges in veterans' access to care.

Health coverage types and their relationship to mental and physical health in U.S. veterans

OBJECTIVE

To examine sociodemographic characteristics and chronic health conditions in veterans across health coverage types including those without coverage.

DESIGN

The sample included cross-sectional data from veterans aged 18 years and over, collected in the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (n = 3487). Chronic health conditions and sociodemographic variables were examined across eleven health coverage types and combinations of health coverage types, as follows: No coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, Private, TRICARE (formerly known as the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS)), TRICARE and Medicare, Veteran's Administration, Veteran's Administration and Medicare, Veteran's Administration and Private, Veteran's Administration and Private and Medicare.

RESULTS

Approximately 3.9% of veterans did not have coverage. The greatest proportion had private coverage (28.2%), then private coverage plus Medicare (19.6%). Only 5.9% had Veterans Administration coverage solely. Among the veterans not covered, the majority were young, lived alone, had less than a high school education and resided in the South. The most common chronic health conditions among non-covered veterans were obesity and migraine. Regional differences were observed in the types of chronic health conditions. Veterans in the Northeast were less likely to report serious psychological distress. In a logistic regression, younger age (18-44 years), living alone and having less than a high school education were predictive of no coverage, but number of chronic health conditions was not.

CONCLUSION

A population of veterans without health coverage may be undeserved and at risk for poor mental and physical health due to non-health related factors.

Pursuing the Mission: How Homeless Veterans Manage Chronic Disease

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the process by which homeless veterans manage their chronic health problems. In the United States, over 550,000 people experience homelessness on any given night. Of these, over 11% are veterans of the military, many whom suffer from at least one chronic disease. Study participants included male homeless veterans with at least one chronic health problem recruited at a Veterans Affairs emergency department, a homeless shelter, and a soup kitchen. Semi-structured interviews with 32 veterans from the Vietnam/post-Vietnam era were audio-recorded, verified, and coded resulting in a theory entitled “pursuing the mission,” which describes and explains four ways (deferring, exploring, embarking, embracing) they manage their chronic health problems. The findings from this study provide insight from individuals living this experience and will help guide the future delivery of health care to homeless veterans.

Characteristics and Health Needs of Veterans with Other-than-Honorable Discharges: Expanding Eligibility in the Veterans Health Administration

Background

There has been nearly no research on the health of veterans with Other-than-Honorable (OTH) discharges because they have traditionally not been eligible for health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). However, the Secretary of the VA has recently expanded eligibility provisions to provide access to some VA health care services to veterans with OTH discharges to help address any urgent mental health care needs. It is unknown if veterans with OTH discharges have worse mental health and potentially greater mental health care needs than other veterans.

Methods

Using data from the 2001 National Survey of Veterans, this study examined the characteristics and health status of veterans with OTH discharges compared with veterans with honorable or general discharges. Physical and mental health was assessed with the 12-item Short Form health survey.

Findings

Bivariate comparisons revealed that veterans with OTH discharges were younger, reported lower income, were more likely to lack health insurance, and reported more mental health problems than other veterans. After controlling for other factors, veterans with OTH discharges were still younger and reported more mental health problems than other veterans. Post hoc analyses revealed veterans with OTH discharges were significantly more likely to report having accomplished less because of emotional problems, performed activities less carefully because of emotional problems, felt less calm and peaceful, and felt more downhearted and blue in the previous 4 wk than other veterans.

Discussion

These findings suggest that veterans with OTH discharges have substantial mental health care needs and may benefit from the VA's recent provision granting them increased access to VA care but some may need more comprehensive mental health care services.

Delays in Seeking Health Care: Comparison of Veterans and the General Population

OBJECTIVES

Recent reports of delays in receiving care among U.S. Veterans have received national attention. Such delays may have an effect on veterans' propensity to seek healthcare as well, which could be detrimental to their health. There exists no evidence at the national level of the magnitude of perceived care delay in the Veterans Affairs (VA) system and how it compares to populations with other types of insurance coverage in the U.S.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study analyzed a recent nationally representative survey database (n = 10,907). Descriptive and multivariate regression analyses were performed to determine how care delay for veterans compares with the general population.

RESULTS

We found that 17.2% of Americans delayed seeking needed healthcare in 2010-2011, but the figure was 29% for veterans. Also, there was a significant association of care delay with VA health care coverage after adjusting for other personal factors and region of the country.

CONCLUSIONS

Study results suggest a possible link between VA access problems and veterans' behavior in seeking needed healthcare, which may be creating disparities in the effectiveness of care for this vulnerable and deserving population. Our study provides evidence of self-reported care delay among veterans. More studies are necessary to further understand factors in relation to delaying seeking care among veterans.

Severe Pain in Veterans: The Effect of Age and Sex, and Comparisons With the General Population

This study provides national prevalence estimates of US military veterans with severe pain, and compares veterans with nonveterans of similar age and sex. Data used are from the 2010 to 2014 National Health Interview Survey on 67,696 adults who completed the Adult Functioning and Disability Supplement. Participants with severe pain were identified using a validated pain severity coding system imbedded in the National Health Interview Survey Adult Functioning and Disability Supplement. It was estimated that 65.5% of US military veterans reported pain in the previous 3 months, with 9.1% classified as having severe pain. Compared with veterans, fewer nonveterans reported any pain (56.4%) or severe pain (6.4%). Whereas veterans aged 18 to 39 years had significantly higher prevalence rates for severe pain (7.8%) than did similar-aged nonveterans (3.2%), veterans age 70 years or older were less likely to report severe pain (7.1%) than nonveterans (9.6%). Male veterans (9.0%) were more likely to report severe pain than male nonveterans (4.7%); however, no statistically significant difference was seen between the 2 female groups. The prevalence of severe pain was significantly higher in veterans with back pain (21.6%), jaw pain (37.5%), severe headaches or migraine (26.4%), and neck pain (27.7%) than in nonveterans with these conditions (respectively: 16.7%, 22.9%, 15.9%, and 21.4%). Although veterans (43.6%) were more likely than nonveterans (31.5%) to have joint pain, no difference was seen in the prevalence of severe pain associated with this condition.

PERSPECTIVE

Prevalence of severe pain, defined as that which occurs "most days" or "every day" and bothers the individual "a lot," is strikingly more common in veterans than in members of the general population, particularly in veterans who served during recent conflicts. Additional assistance may be necessary to help veterans cope with their pain.

Homelessness among a nationally representative sample of US veterans: prevalence, service utilization, and correlates

PURPOSE

To examine the prevalence of lifetime homelessness among veterans and use of Veterans Affairs (VA) homeless services, as well as their association with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

METHODS

A nationally representative sample of 1533 US veterans was surveyed July-August 2015.

RESULTS

Among all veterans, 8.5 % reported any lifetime homelessness in their adult life, but only 17.2 % of those reported using VA homeless services. Prevalence of homelessness and VA homeless service use did not significantly differ by gender. Being low income, aged 35-44, and having poor mental and physical health were each independently associated with lifetime homelessness. Veterans who were White or lived in rural areas were significantly less likely to have used VA homeless services.

CONCLUSIONS

Homelessness remains a substantial problem across different generations of veterans. The low reported uptake of VA homeless services suggests there are barriers to care in this population, especially for veterans who live in rural areas. Governmental resources dedicated to veteran homelessness should be supported, and obtaining accurate prevalence estimates are important to tracking progress over time.

Affordable care act: comparison of healthcare indicators among different insurance beneficiaries with new coverage eligibility

BACKGROUND

Health coverage in the United States will be increased to nearly universal levels under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In order to better understand the impact of the type of health insurance and health outcomes, there is a need to examine health disparities and inequalities between the insured and the uninsured based on their eligibility for coverage.

METHODS

The current study used the data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 2012 (MEPS). Selected health characteristics and access to care items were compared in regard to the insurance status: private, public, the uninsured, but likely eligible for Medicaid expansion (EME), and the uninsured, but likely required to purchase health plans through the health insurance exchanges (RPIE).

RESULTS

Analyses showed that 17.2% of US adults ages 27-64 were eligible as EME and 12.9% as RPIE in 2012. Compared to the insured groups, the uninsured who were eligible for coverage reported fewer health problems than those insured privately and publicly. However, they also reported less use of health care, including preventive health service, screenings, and unmet health care needs.

CONCLUSIONS

The ACA aims to increase coverage options and access to treatment and preventive health care services for the majority of the uninsured US population. However, it may not play as significant of a role in improving health among the uninsured, in particular, those eligible for the Medicaid expansion.

Health care expenditures attributable to smoking in military veterans

INTRODUCTION

The health effects of cigarette smoking have been estimated to account for between 6%-8% of U.S. health care expenditures. We estimated Veterans Health Administration (VHA) health care costs attributable to cigarette smoking.

METHODS

VHA survey and administrative data provided the number of Veteran enrollees, current and former smoking prevalence, and the cost of 4 types of care for groups defined by age, gender, and region. Cost and smoking status could not be linked at the enrollee level, so we used smoking attributable fractions estimated in sample of U.S. residents where the linkage could be made.

RESULTS

The 7.7 million Veterans enrolled in VHA received $40.2 billion in VHA provided health services in 2010. We estimated that $2.7 billion in VHA costs were attributable to the health effects of smoking. This was 7.6% of the $35.3 billion spent on the types of care for which smoking-attributable fractions could be determined. The fraction of inpatient costs that was attributable to smoking (11.4%) was greater than the fraction of ambulatory care cost attributable to smoking (5.3%). More cost was attributable to current smokers ($1.7 billion) than to former smokers ($983 million).

CONCLUSIONS

The fraction of VHA costs attributable to smoking is similar to that of other health care systems. Smoking among Veterans is slowly decreasing, but prevalence remains high in Veterans with psychiatric and substance use disorders, and in younger and female Veterans. VHA has adopted a number of smoking cessation programs that have the potential for reducing future smoking-attributable costs.

Risk factors for homelessness among US veterans

Homelessness among US veterans has been a focus of research for over 3 decades. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, this is the first systematic review to summarize research on risk factors for homelessness among US veterans and to evaluate the evidence for these risk factors. Thirty-one studies published from 1987 to 2014 were divided into 3 categories: more rigorous studies, less rigorous studies, and studies comparing homeless veterans with homeless nonveterans. The strongest and most consistent risk factors were substance use disorders and mental illness, followed by low income and other income-related factors. There was some evidence that social isolation, adverse childhood experiences, and past incarceration were also important risk factors. Veterans, especially those who served since the advent of the all-volunteer force, were at greater risk for homelessness than other adults. Homeless veterans were generally older, better educated, and more likely to be male, married/have been married, and to have health insurance coverage than other homeless adults. More studies simultaneously addressing premilitary, military, and postmilitary risk factors for veteran homelessness are needed. This review identifies substance use disorders, mental illness, and low income as targets for policies and programs in efforts to end homelessness among veterans.