Determinants of VA Utilization

By the end of the decade, fully one half of American males aged 65 years and over will be veterans. In anticipation of the increased demand for medical services, the Veterans Administration recently commissioned a survey of the needs of aging veterans. From a national probability sample, approximately 34,500 households were screened to yield interviews with 3,013 veterans aged 55 years and over. Using multivariate regression analyses, the present study employed this data set for two purposes: 1) to identify covariates of past and present service utilization in the VA system, and 2) to identify the conditions under which veterans will declare an intention to use VA services in the future. Independent variables included medical diagnoses, ADLs, demographic and background characteristics, convenience and proximity to VA facilities, alternative forms of insurance coverage, VA eligibility, and attitudes about the quality of VA care. The results suggest markedly different predictors for current use versus likelihood of future use; however, income was related to both current and intended future utilization. The implications of these findings for policy development and utilization projections are discussed.