The Number of Veterans That Use VA Health Care Services: A Fact Sheet

The Number of Veterans That Use VA Health Care Services: A Fact Sheet

The Number of Veterans That Use VA Health
Care Services: A Fact Sheet
Erin Bagalman
Analyst in Health Policy
June 3, 2014
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R43579

The Number of Veterans That Use VA Health Care Services: A Fact Sheet

Introduction
It’s a simple question—how many veterans use services at the Veterans Health Administration
(VHA)? It’s a question being asked a lot these days, and it is important, baseline information to
know when changes are being contemplated1 to the way in which VA delivers health care to
veterans.
In the course of an investigation into allegations2 that veterans seeking health care services from
the VHA experienced long delays in treatment, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of
Inspector General (OIG) released an interim report3 that substantiated the delays. Final
determinations by the OIG of the full scope and impact of the problems, including whether delays
in treatment resulted in harm to or the death of any veterans, will not be available until the OIG
completes its investigation and issues a final report.
The issue of wait times for VA health care is not new (see CRS Insight IN10063, Wait Times for
Veterans Health Not New). Approaches to providing timely access to care for veterans enrolled in
VA health care have included the use of non-VA care reimbursed by the VA (see CRS Insight
IN10074, Getting Health Care Outside the VA). The need to rely on non-VA care in some cases
has raised questions about the VA’s capacity to provide services to the veteran population now
and in the future. Knowing how many veterans there are is essential to answering those questions.
Number of Veterans and VA Health Care Users
Veterans Total Population: Annual estimates of the total population of living veterans4 are based
in part on a U.S. Census Bureau definition of veterans as “men and women who have served
(even for a short time), but are not currently serving, on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard, or who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during
World War II.”5
VA Enrollees: Eligibility for federal veterans’ benefits begins with a statutory definition of a
veteran as a “person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was
discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.”6 To receive VA

1 United States Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Press Release, “Chairman Sanders Lays Out Legislative Action
Plan for Veterans,” June 1, 2014, http://www.veterans.senate.gov/newsroom/majority-news/chairman-sanders-lays-out-
legislative-action-plan-for-veterans, website accessed June 2, 2014. Senator McCain has indicated he will present an
alternative. See Michael C. Bender, “Reid-Backed Veterans Care Plan Draws Repubilcan Alternate,” Bloomberg, June
3, 2014, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-02/reid-backed-veterans-care-plan-draws-republican-alternate.html,
website accessed June 3, 2014.
2 CNN, “Shinseki resigns, but will that improve things at VA hospitals?,” May 31, 2014, http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/
30/politics/va-hospitals-shinseki/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews, website accessed June 2, 2014.
3 Veterans Health Administration, “Interim Report: Review of Patient Wait Times, Scheduling Practices, and Alleged
Patient Deaths at the Phoenix Health Care System,” May 28, 2014, http://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-14-02603-
178.pdf, website accessed June 2, 2014.
4 United States Department of Veterans Affairs, National Centers for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, “Veteran
Population,” website accessed June 2, 2014, http://www.va.gov/vetdata/Veteran_Population.asp.
5 United States Census Bureau, “Definitions and Concepts: Who are veterans?,” http://www.census.gov/hhes/veterans/
about/definitions.html, website accessed June 2, 2014.
6 38 U.S.C. Section 101(2), http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=
(continued...)
Congressional Research Service
1

The Number of Veterans That Use VA Health Care Services: A Fact Sheet

health care, veterans generally must enroll in the system after meeting eligibility requirements
(which for most veterans are based on previous military service, presence of service-connected
disabilities, and/or other factors).7
VA Patients (Veterans): In a given year, not every VA-enrolled veteran receives VA health care
services. Some veterans may opt not to seek care during the year, while others may receive care
outside the VA system, paying for care using private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, the
military health system (TRICARE), or other means. Thus not every VA-enrolled veteran is
counted as a VA patient during a given year.
VA Patients (Non-veterans): The VA also provides health care services to certain non-veteran
patients, including “active duty military and reserve, spousal collateral, consultations and
instruction, CHAMPVA workload, reimbursable workload with affiliates, humanitarian care, and
employees receiving occupational immunizations such as Hepatitis A&B and flu vaccinations.”8
Table 1 provides the total veteran population, VA-enrolled veterans, and VA patients (including
both veteran and non-veteran patients) for each year from FY2001 through FY2014. These data
allow several observations, including the following:
• The total veteran population has decreased by 17% from FY2001 to FY2014.
• The VA-enrolled veteran population has increased by 78% from FY2001 to
FY2014.
• As a proportion of the total veteran population, the VA-enrolled veterans have
increased from 20% in FY2001 to 42% in FY2014.
• Since FY2003, 63%–65% of VA enrolled veterans have used VA health care each
year. (In FY2001, 76% of enrolled veterans used VA health care, but this is
anomalous within the time period. In FY2002 it was 69%.)
• The number of non-veteran VA patients has increased faster than the number of
veteran patients; as of FY2014, non-veteran patients represent 11% of all VA
patients.

(...continued)
%28title:38%20section:101%282%29%20edition:prelim, website accessed June 2, 2014.
7 CRS Report R42747, Health Care for Veterans: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, by Sidath Viranga
Panangala and Erin Bagalman.
8 Department of Veterans Affairs, “Volume II, Medical Programs and Information Technology Programs,
Congressional Submission, FY 2015 Funding and FY 2016 Advance Appropriations,” p. VHA-32, http://www.va.gov/
budget/docs/summary/Fy2015-VolumeII-MedicalProgramsAndInformationTechnology.pdf#page=34, website accessed
June 2, 2014.
Congressional Research Service
2

The Number of Veterans That Use VA Health Care Services: A Fact Sheet

Table 1.Veteran Population, VA Enrollees, and VA Patients, FY2001–FY2014
Patients Using VA Health Care During the Year
Total Veteran
VA-Enrolled
Year
Population
Veterans
Veterans
Non-Veterans
Total Patients
FY2001
26,092,046
5,124,168
3,890,871
356,333
4,247,204
FY2002
25,627,596
6,248,949
4,290,717
380,320
4,671,037
FY2003
25,217,342
7,186,643
4,544,430
417,023
4,961,453
FY2004
24,862,857
7,419,851
4,713,583
453,250
5,166,833
FY2005
24,521,247
7,655,562
4,862,992
445,322
5,308,314
FY2006
24,179,183
7,872,438
5,030,582
435,488
5,466,070
FY2007
23,816,018
7,833,445
5,015,689
463,240
5,478,929
FY2008
23,442,489
7,834,763
5,078,269
498,420
5,576,689
FY2009
23,066,965
8,048,560
5,221,583
523,110
5,744,693
FY2010
23,031,892
8,343,117
5,441,059
559,051
6,000,110
FY2011
22,676,149
8,574,198
5,582,171
584,020
6,166,191
FY2012
22,328,279
8,762,548
5,680,374
652,717
6,333,091
FY2013
21,972,964
8,926,546
5,803,890
680,774
6,484,664
FY2014
21,619,731
9,111,955
5,908,042
708,921
6,616,963
Sources: Total Veterans numbers are from VetPop2011 (FY2010–FY2014), available at http://www.va.gov/
vetdata/Veteran_Population.asp, and an archived copy of an earlier version no longer available on the website
(FY2000–FY2009). VA-Enrol ed Veterans numbers and Patients Using VA Health Care During the Year numbers
are from VA budget submissions for FY2002–FY2015; the number for each fiscal year is taken from the budget
submission two years later (e.g., the FY2000 number is from the FY2002 budget submission).
Notes: FY2014 numbers for VA-Enrol ed Veterans and Patients Using VA Health Care during the Year are
estimates.

Author Contact Information

Erin Bagalman

Analyst in Health Policy
ebagalman@crs.loc.gov, 7-5345

Congressional Research Service
3