Veteran's Health Access: Who Gets What Done Where?

This study will expand upon previous research that suggests veterans over the age of 50 have as good if not better health care access as non-veterans. Using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and examining preventive care, Stype (2018) found that veterans are more likely to receive preventive services both before and after Medicare eligibility. However, it remains to be seen whether this is a result of veterans’ health facilities (VHA) access or differences in characteristics between veterans and nonveterans. For example, veterans over the age of 50 are more likely to achieve a higher level of education and also have employer provided health insurance than nonveterans of the same age group. Utilizing the existing linkage between the HRS and VA health care data, this study will address where veterans receive preventative care and which procedures were conducted within the VHA. Further analysis will consider how VHA utilization varies with both insurance status and demographic variables such as age, race and education. Furthermore, preventative care can be used to proxy for health care adequacy and access so this study will shed light on how VHA utilization impacts veterans’ health care adequacy for near elderly and elderly veterans.