Approximately 600,000 Veterans are enrolled in state Medicaid and approximately 300,000 are additionally enrolled in Medicare. Tri-eligible Veterans are a mixture of the elderly and the permanently disabled, heavily weighted toward elderly veterans with long term care needs. It can be anticipated that newly disabled veterans from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan will be becoming eligible for Medicaid and subsequently Medicare in the near future.

While the Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA) does provide care for veterans with a service-related disability, the geographical distribution of VHA facilities and the desire to seek care from non VHA-providers will lead to Medicaid and Medicare enrollment. Permanently disabled veterans with TBI, multiple amputations and mental illness will influence the distribution and utilization patterns of the dual and tri-eligible population.

Veterans and their Reliance on Medicaid and Medicare
Federal and state policymakers are beginning to face greater programmatic and financial pressures on their Medicaid and Medicare programs as veterans with eligibility under these programs opt out of the veterans’ system of care and turn to these programs for their healthcare.

Nationally, the number of veterans who are eligible for the Medicaid and Medicare programs is large enough to have a significant effect on both the Medicaid and Medicare programs now and in the future. We can anticipate that these so-called “tri-eligibles” increase in number in the near future, as those who are permanently disabled increase in number, and are consequently more likely to be eligible for Medicaid and Medicare than today’s population.

Long-Term Use of Care by Veterans
JAI has designed and developed an integrated and confidential database of all veterans, including those with eligibility under both the Medicaid and Medicare programs. This database provides a wealth of information on the patterns of both historical and projected healthcare use by veterans, such as the expected impact of newly-disabled veterans by state and region, and by program. Additionally descriptive profiles of enrollment patterns, rates of disease/disability and the level of use of Medicaid and Medicare services by region and risk group can provide valuable insight to assist in planning and evaluation.

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