One in 10 of the nation’s 12.5 million non-elderly veterans report either not having health insurance coverage or using Veterans Affairs health care, according to a study recently published by the Urban Institute.
The 2010 American Community Survey, released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, focused on the level of uninsured veterans and their families.
The report found that veterans are less likely than the rest of the non-elderly population to be insured. Both uninsured veterans and their family members reported significantly less access to health care than their counterparts with insurance coverage.
Nationally, 41.2 percent of uninsured veterans reported unmet medical needs, 39.5 percent reported unmet dental needs and 33.7 percent reported delaying care due to cost. For all these indicators, uninsured veterans reported significantly more unmet and delayed needs than their insured counterparts.
The Department of Veterans Affairs provides health care for many veterans through a system of medical centers, clinics and other facilities, however some veterans do not use VA health care services.
Key findings of the report were:
- An estimated 1.3 million veterans and nearly 950,000 members of their families are uninsured, together making up 4.8 percent of the nation’s 47.3 million uninsured in 2010.
- Forty-one percent of uninsured veterans report having unmet medical needs, while nearly 34 percent have delayed care due to cost.
- Just four states have rates for the uninsured below 6 percent—Massachusetts, Hawaii, Vermont and North Dakota. Meanwhile, four states—Louisiana, Oregon, Idaho and Montana—have uninsured rates above 14 percent.
The report found that the Affordable Care Act could increase coverage among the U.S. population, including many uninsured veterans. An estimated 50 percent of uninsured veterans would qualify for expanded Medicaid coverage and 40 percent of uninsured veterans could potentially qualify for subsidized coverage through health insurance exchanges if they do not have access to affordable employer coverage.
The report indicated that states that have made the least progress in implementing health insurance exchanges have the highest rates of uninsured veterans; almost 40 percent of uninsured veterans and their family members live in these states.
