More Than 60% of New York’s Newest Veterans Have a Disability

Contact: Shannon MacColl, [email protected]

October 7, 2024, New York, NY - More than 60% of New York State veterans who have recently separated from the military are living with a disability and 25% experience likely depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And although 97% of these new veterans have health insurance, many report having unmet mental health and/or physical health needs and not having a health care provider they typically see.

When they do get care, New York's newest veterans report positive experiences in both U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities and those in the community paid for by VA. But nearly 60% say that if they could choose to get care anywhere, they would prefer to go to a community provider.

The findings come from a new survey commissioned by the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth) and conducted by RAND, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research institution. The survey asked new veterans about their mental and physical health needs, access to care, and additional factors such as food security that can affect wellbeing. A random sample of 1,122 veterans discharged or separated from the military between January 2018 and January 2023 who reside in New York were surveyed earlier this year.

"To serve veterans, we need to first listen to them directly about their needs, priorities, and preferences," said David Sandman, Ph.D., President and CEO of NYHealth. "This newest generation of veterans differs from the past and is clear about what they want: high-quality care for their minds and bodies, whether it's from the VA or in their own community."

Key Findings:

• Demographic Composition: The cohort of new veterans in New York is relatively young, with 62% under age 45. It is also diverse: approximately 15% are women and nearly 40% are non-white.
• Mental Health Challenges: Overall, 1 in 4 veterans surveyed have probable depression or PTSD; nearly 1 in 5 (17%) have both.
  • Veterans with combat deployments have higher rates of PTSD but lower rates of depression compared to those without combat experience.
  • The proportion of veterans reporting suicidal thoughts is twice as high as estimates for the general New York adult population.
  • For those with unmet mental health needs, more than one-quarter say they don't know where to find the right services, and nearly 40% say they believe mental health care won't be effective.
• Physical Health Issues: More than 60% of survey respondents reported being rated as fully or partially disabled by the military or VA. 20% of veterans rate their health as "fair" or "poor."
• Food Insecurity: Despite high levels of education and employment, 25% of survey respondents worried about not having enough money for food at some point during the past year.

These findings point to the importance of both policy change and community-based interventions. Veterans often struggle to navigate a complex health care system that does not fully address their unique needs.

The study released today builds on a similar needs assessment conducted by RAND in 2010. Compared with the 2010 cohort:

• Disability rates are twice as high (60% vs. 30%) among the newest veterans, although measures of overall physical functioning remain consistent.
• Among the newest veterans, 1 in 4 have experienced depression or PTSD, compared with 1 in 6 in the earlier cohort.
• More veterans are using mental health services (32% vs. 24% of respondents).

"Skewing older and more diverse, today's recently separated veterans are more likely to have both physical and mental health challenges than those we studied in 2010," said RAND Senior Economist Jeanne Ringel, the lead author of the study. "In addition to better physical and mental healthcare access, it's clear that they also need expanded community efforts to help address their overall wellbeing for the next chapter of their lives."

"As a veteran, I know firsthand about what service members face when they come home. Some struggle with invisible wounds like depression while others cope with new challenges like burn pit exposure," said Derek Coy, Senior Program Officer at NYHealth and a former Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. "RAND's earlier needs assessment created a roadmap that's guided funders, advocates, and policymakers for more than a decade in their work to support New York's veterans. These latest findings will help us refine and focus efforts to meet the evolving needs of an increasingly diverse veteran community."

Recommendations include:

• Expand access to veteran-competent mental health services in community settings.
• Invest in veteran-specific suicide prevention programs and crisis intervention strategies.
• Increase outreach and awareness about benefits and services, particularly related to food insecurity and job training.
• Address logistical barriers to health care, such as transportation and flexible appointment times.

View the research brief and full report, Understanding Veterans in New York.

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The New York Health Foundation (NYHealth) is a private, statewide foundation dedicated to improving the health of all New Yorkers, especially people of color and others who have been historically marginalized. The Foundation is committed to making grants, informing health policy and practice, spreading effective programs to improve the health care system and the health of New Yorkers, serving as a convener of health leaders across the State, and providing technical assistance to its grantees and partners.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. To sign up for RAND e-mail alerts: http://www.rand.org/publications/email.html

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