Our Health Policy Matters

Fifty-four percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who have sought treatment in the VA system since 2001 have been treated for mental disorders. This is the second most-frequent diagnosis among these veterans.  It is an indicator of the profound effect recent war service is having on the mental health and well-being of our veterans. The data come from a March, 2013, report entitled Analysis of VA Healthcare Utilization Among Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation New Dawn (OND) Veterans .   Here are some numbers that reflect how extensive the use of VA services has been during the last decade. As of the end of 2012, 2.5 million troops had served since the beginning of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  Just over 1.6 million had become eligible for VA healthcare.  Of that group, almost 900,000 had used VA healthcare services by the end of 2012. These 900,000 veterans most often sought treatment in VA cen...

Fifty-four percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who have sought treatment in the VA system since 2001 have been treated for mental disorders. This is the second most-frequent diagnosis among these veterans.  It is an indicator of the profound effect recent war service is having on the mental health and well-being of our veterans. The data come from a March, 2013, report entitled Analysis of VA Healthcare Utilization Among Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation New Dawn (OND) Veterans .   Here are some numbers that reflect how extensive the use of VA services has been during the last decade. As of the end of 2012, 2.5 million troops had served since the beginning of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  Just over 1.6 million had become eligible for VA healthcare.  Of that group, almost 900,000 had used VA healthcare services by the end of 2012. These 900,000 veterans most often sought treatment in VA cen...