War at home: Lack of health insurance killed 2,266 veterans last year
Filed under: Economy, Healthcare
Last year, some 307 American soldiers died in Iraq -- nearly twice the number killed in Afghanistan. But the home front was far deadlier for veterans: an estimated 2,266 U.S. military veterans died last year -- not from combat but from lack of health insurance, Harvard Medical School researchers report. That's more than seven times the number of U.S. casualties in Iraq last year, or six preventable deaths a day.Despite a common misconception that all veterans qualify for lifetime care through the Veterans Health Administration, researchers found that 1.46 million vets under 65 were uninsured last year. Some earn too much to qualify for Veterans Affairs assistance but too little to afford private insurance.
"They're less likely to get care for common conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol," says study co-author Steffie Woolhandler, a professor at Harvard Medical School. "These conditions are manageable if you get treated, but can turn lethal if you don't."
Woolhandler and co-author David Himmelstein, a Harvard associate professor of medicine, say the health reforms under consideration by Congress won't improve the vets' lot anytime soon; any reforms aren't expected to help uninsured Americans before 2013. And many veterans they studied are middle-income earners who wouldn't qualify for government subsidies to buy insurance -- so they would have to come up with "thousands and thousands of dollars out of their own prockets," Woolhandler says.
"The best thing that can be said about the proposed reform is that there is some Medicaid expansion," says Woolhandler. "But the type of working families that most veterans represent would get very little help out of these bills."
The veterans' bad news came Wednesday: Veterans Day, when the U.S. honors armed servicemembers past and present, on the 91st anniversary of the signing of the 1918 armistice ending World War I.
The researchers arrived at their estimate of 2,266 deaths last year through research finding that uninsured working-age Americans are 40% more likely to die than those with private coverage, and about 45,000 deaths in the U.S. each year are attributed to a lack of health insurance.
Colleen Corliss, a representative of veterans organization Swords to Plowshares, says the number is no surprise. Of those veterans who have recently left the military, 18% are unemployed, says Corliss, whose San Francisco–based organization provides health, legal, and social services to veterans. About 25% of employed vets earn less than $21,840 a year, Corliss says. "Veterans, statistically across the board, are in a lower income bracket," she says.
Woolhandler says that VA care is not as easy to get as the public thinks. "If you get your leg blown off, you'll get taken care of for the rest of your life," she says, citing the types of service-connected disabilities that qualify for coverage. But not all combat veterans automatically qualify for care, she says. Some receive care only after satisfying a means test, and anyone with income much above $40,000 a year may be ineligible, she says.
Corliss estimates that 35% of her organization's clients don't qualify for VA care; one reason is discharge status. "A lot of older Vietnam-era veterans didn't go through the paper trail and didn't get VA care," she says.
The veterans' predicament is not too different from that of many Americans who find themselves uninsured because they earn too much to qualify for government-subsidized care but too little to pay for private health insurance. But given the enormous sacrifices many veterans have made in serving their country, their plight seems all the more troubling.
"On this Veterans Day," Himmelstein says, "we should not only honor the nearly 500 soldiers who have died this year in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the more than 2,200 veterans who were killed by our broken health insurance system."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
11-11-2009 @ 4:50PM
JustK said...
I am not a vet, but I make far under $40,000 and I have health care I can afford. Where are these people looking for health care?
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11-11-2009 @ 5:29PM
aforceguy said...
Its not JUST about care you can afford. It's about the quality of that care. In a different Harvard study that was published this year, they found that the MAJORITY of Americans that HAVE health insurance, don't have SUFFICIENT coverage. So, you can afford what you have? Great. Is it going to pay for your bills if you end up spending several months in a hospital? I don't know what your policy says, but if you make less than $40,000 and have a policy you can afford, it's HIGHLY unlikely it covers anything major beyond a few thousand dollars. THAT'S the problem. It's not that you can afford it, it's that you aren't getting any substantial coverage.
11-12-2009 @ 8:55AM
joe mama said...
the question is not where i'm looking, but where did you find quality care for a reasonable price.
11-11-2009 @ 6:22PM
aforceguy said...
Hey ERMAL, so, have you formulated any of your OWN thoughts about anything, or do you just copy and paste articles?
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11-11-2009 @ 6:47PM
Bob said...
This report does not make sense, veterans have health insurance. Veterans can go to any VA hospital which of course is run by by the government. Another scare tactic, we still have the best health care system in the world, it's called free market. Yes, some changes can be made, but not to be taken over by the government. If you think it's expensive now, wait until it's free!
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11-11-2009 @ 9:38PM
jimstngry said...
Bob, I hate to burst your bubble, I know for certain first hand being a Vietnam Vet I was told Two months ago I was NOT eligible because I make over $39,000 income, but if I become castistrophic,Lost a leg , they would care for me only if I paid them a high premium of cost! They told my uncle, a decarated WWII veteran the same thing! As of January 2003, your President GW Bush and the republican controlledc congress and senate signed into law these new requirements that stripped all veterans whom were promised free health care the rest of their lives prior to 1975 induction. This just shows that republicans are all talk when it comes to veterans! Chew on tihs a while Mr Cheney, these new laws happened on your watch !
11-12-2009 @ 12:05AM
Charlotte Osborn said...
Bob, you are way off base. Military retirees and their spouses have lifetime care provided at military hospitals or civilian facilities if they reside too far from a military base. Military veterans (discharged, but not retired) fall into another category..and though their finances were not considered when drafted or enlisted, the 2003 bill changed that..now, a veteran's finances determine eligibility for healthcare at a veterans' facility. Those finances encompass his entire combined family income and savings, home ownership, and other assets. I have a husband in need of a liver transplant (nuclear weapons specialist during the Vietnam era who was exposed to harmful radiation), and because I work part time and we both collect social security, he cannot receive veteran's benefits as promised when he enlisted. This is a disgrace and I am embarrassed that it happened on Bush's watch. These restrictions on care for veterans, I feel, are a contributor to the large numbers of homeless vets...if they have nothing, they can get the care they need. Shameful...and the public at large is not aware....as you so profoundly demonstrate.
11-12-2009 @ 6:51AM
wayne said...
Bob, You are correct, America has the best healthcare in the world that money can buy. It's unfortunate that a large percent of Americans can't afford it. Because of this we have defacto Death Panels (Insurnace Companies) if you can't afford insurance you may surely die.
11-12-2009 @ 7:21AM
Rich said...
as a vet (honorable discharge for medical conditions) I can tell you not every vet is covered. We make under 20000 a year and im not covered. Also the VA works hard to squrim out of taking care us vets. If you think vets are on easy street, think again.
11-11-2009 @ 6:34PM
Everett said...
Your endorsement of ObamaCare is insulting. I have never joing your organization and never will.
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11-11-2009 @ 6:39PM
mkl said...
It's morally wrong to leave 100 million Americans un or underinsured, 1 illness away from financial ruin. And it's wrong to burden small business with the outrageous insurance costs also -- saw a cool site; Balkingpoints ; incredible satellite view of earth
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11-11-2009 @ 7:40PM
dave said...
If the vets don't have jobs they qualify for Medicaid, if they have jobs without insurance they also qualify.
Why didn't the democratic author of this article do a little better research?
AARP Executive I guess.
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11-11-2009 @ 8:19PM
David S. said...
I think if we are the richest, and the Most Powerful in the history of the world, that it's a Shame to not give healthcare to our vets. It's just Plain wrong. In a time when we've got hundreds of billions for the exploration of Space, and for raises for Congress, Or for senate members, or however we spend our tax revenues, we CANNOT refuse to help our men, and women who've been there for us. That's My Personal Opinion. Speaking for Myself.
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11-11-2009 @ 8:54PM
Don said...
This article is a crock. I think they pulled the numbers out of their butt. I'm a 24 year army retired vet and trust me, the VA bends over backwards to take care of vets. No one is turned away.
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11-11-2009 @ 9:33PM
cessnatx said...
I am a Vet....just wanted to make that statement first..
But every so often we see in the "NEWS" statements of so-called "fact" that are unsubstantiated and with no noted sources..such as this one...On the surface it might grab the heart because it sounds so dreadful....But in fact this story lacks substance and is not true...It is designed solely to tug on the heart strings and is of course "timed" to affect the outcome of the ridiculous legislation that the government is wanted to cram down our throats..
The VA Hospital will let anyone join who is a Vet...if you make over certain amounts you pay co-pays on upward...If somehow you don't qualify because your income is in the higher up brackets..(I personally have heard of no one being turned down)..you can of course afford your own coverage or self insure your own self..This report is totally without merit...Disregard
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11-11-2009 @ 9:50PM
Richard said...
It could be because VA health care which is run by the government, is so bad you would rather die than end up in their hospitals!!!!
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11-12-2009 @ 12:55AM
wisewally said...
You're talking out your ass and don't have any clue what you're talking about!
The VA has a good plan, and I don't understand why more Vets don't pursue this health care plan. Initially, the older hospitals like Wlater Reed need repair. But there are many newer facilities that are equal to the best out there.
With today's economy the way it is, I simply wish that the unemployment offices would screen out the Vets and inform them this is available to them...if they are collecting unemployment, they are well under the financial cap and will qualify! Eventually they'll be back working and on their feet again.
Tell every Vet you meet about this, and get them to register. It's an easy process, and great people handling their health issues. As they told me, you came into the military jealthy and whole, we want you healthy and as close to whole again. Their clinics and hospital facilities are awesome!
11-11-2009 @ 9:57PM
jimstngry said...
From: Department of Veterans Affairs: Each year, the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) determines which priority groups will be enrolled in the VA Health care system. In order to ensure VA's ability to provide already enrolled Veterans timely access to health care services, in 2003, the Secretary made the difficult decision to suspend enrolling new applicants in the Priority Group 8. This letter goes on telling about GW Bush signing into law in January 17th 2003 the enrollment Priority Groups 1-8 and is signed by Tony A. Guagliardo Questions? Call 1-877-222-VETS (Now do you believe the story above? If not, call the number above!)
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11-12-2009 @ 7:08AM
charles j. rodgers said...
Don't know which "priority" grp. I'm in but was refused an application for prescription assistance by the Ann Arbor VA.
REASON GIVEN: THE 2003 BUSH LEGISTLATION.
Appears there are vets and then there are vets that don't count any more after 2003. cjr,'51/'54
11-12-2009 @ 9:49PM
Dr.Yusuf Al-Kindi said...
What is so bad about giving health care to all Americans? Medicare does not make us a communist country. That is absurd. Ermal's cut and paste rant is just craziness of the Lyndon Larouche caliber. What sort of country are we that we ignore the health care needs of the middle class and lower class? We need a government sponsored alternativeto insurance compnay plans. even the bible says that we shoudl care about our brothers and neighbors. The right wing in this country is selfish and keeps citizens stupid.
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