Tsai Jack, Kasprow Wesley J, Culhane Dennis, Rosenheck Robert A
Dr. Tsai and Dr. Rosenheck are with the Veterans Affairs (VA) New England Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, West Haven, Connecticut. They are also with the Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, where Dr. Kasprow is affiliated (e-mail:
Psychiatr Serv. 2015 Dec 1;66(12):1353-6. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201500377. Epub 2015 Oct 1.
Among homeless veterans and those at risk of homelessness currently enrolled in Veterans Affairs (VA) health care, this study examined the proportion likely to become eligible for Medicaid in 2014 and their health needs.
A total of 114,497 homeless and at-risk veterans were categorized into three groups: currently covered by Medicaid, likely to become eligible for Medicaid, and not likely.
Seventy-eight percent of the sample was determined to be likely to become eligible for Medicaid in states that expand Medicaid. Compared with veterans not likely to become eligible for Medicaid, those likely to become eligible were less likely to have general medical and psychiatric conditions and to have a VA service-connected disability but more likely to have substance use disorders.
Programs serving homeless and at-risk veterans should anticipate the potential interplay between VA health care and the expansion of Medicaid in states that implement the expansion.
在目前参加退伍军人事务部（VA）医疗保健的无家可归退伍军人和有面临无家可归风险的人群中，本研究调查了在2014年可能符合医疗补助资格的比例及其健康需求。
总共114,497名无家可归和有风险的退伍军人被分为三组：目前已获得医疗补助、可能符合医疗补助资格以及不太可能符合资格。
在扩大医疗补助的州，78%的样本被确定可能符合医疗补助资格。与不太可能符合医疗补助资格的退伍军人相比，可能符合资格的退伍军人患一般医疗和精神疾病以及有与VA相关的残疾的可能性较小，但患物质使用障碍的可能性较大。
为无家可归和有风险的退伍军人提供服务的项目应预计VA医疗保健与实施扩大医疗补助的州的医疗补助扩大之间的潜在相互作用。
