More than a quarter of OEF OIF veterans without health insurance

Many younger vets among the ranks of uninsured
More than quarter of all veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan don’t have health insurance and aren’t part of the Department of Veterans Affairs health system, according to an analysis of VA data.
BY CHRIS ADAMS
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
Published: Nov. 19, 2012

More than quarter of all veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan don’t have health insurance and aren’t part of the Department of Veterans Affairs health system, according to an analysis of VA data.

The uninsured rate among these recent veterans is higher than for other war periods and for veterans as a whole, raising concerns that veterans recently back from the wars might not be taking advantage of care to which they are entitled.

Veterans advocates and some lawmakers have pushed to automatically enroll veterans in the VA health care system, which could fill in the gap for some of the veterans not now covered by the VA or the private market.

“It is critically important that we continue to reach out and inform veterans of the health care and benefits they have earned through their service to country,” said VA spokesman Josh Taylor. “We have made progress, but there is more work to do.”
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