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Eligible Veterans' Choice Between VA‐covered and Non‐VA‐covered Dental Care
Author(s) -
Gilbert Gregg H.,
Branch Laurence G.,
Longmate Jeffrey
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of public health dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1752-7325
pISSN - 0022-4006
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-7325.1992.tb02289.x
Subject(s) - veterans affairs , dental care , medicine , family medicine , medical care , health care , gerontology , economics , economic growth
Veterans who were eligible for dental care in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities at no monetary cost responded to a mailed questionnaire. Seventy‐one percent were aware that they were actually eligible for VA dental care. However, only 48 percent reported the VA as their only or primary source of dental care. Eligibility status, perceived quality of VA dental care, use of VA medical care, perception that one's income meets expenses, and perceived need for dental care were significant correlates of using the VA as one's current source of dental care. Level of formal education, perception that one's income meets expenses, transportation pattern, geographic distance from a VA facility, and eligibility status were significant correlates of using the VA as one's current medical care source. Research on VA utilization offers the opportunity to study issues of access to, and use of, a large public health care system whose patients largely receive care at no monetary cost. Veterans' use of VA dental and medical care is apparently influenced by a wide variety of factors, ranging from barriers to access to non‐VA systems, to characteristics of the VA delivery system itself, to need for treatment.