Commentaries at the San Antonio Report provide space for our community to share perspectives and offer solutions to pressing local issues. The views expressed in this commentary belong to the author alone.
In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln defined America’s duty to its veterans, pledging that a grateful nation would “care for him who shall have borne the battle.” A century and a half later, we’re still working to live up to that promise.
Part of the challenge is that veterans are getting older. Today, half of all veterans are 65 or older; by 2035, the number of veterans 85 or older will increase by 73%. In total, there are now 8.1 million senior veterans, including at least 1.5 million right here in Texas. Those seniors need specialized care and medical support — and they are also uniquely vulnerable to the barriers that often impede our ability to deliver adequate health care for veterans.
Most veterans rely on Veterans Health Administration clinics, where they receive high-quality care — but aging veterans sometimes struggle with long wait times and mobility challenges that make it difficult to travel. In total, three-quarters of former service members — including many aging San Antonio veterans — now receive care outside the VA system.
It’s easy to see why senior veterans are looking to private health care. A study in New York found virtually all private clinics are accepting new patients, and almost half offer same-day appointments. With research showing that about one-fifth of seniors who experience treatment delays suffer negative clinical outcomes, streamlined access to care becomes a critical need for seniors.
It’s important to understand, though, that opting for private health care is usually a trade-off for veterans. Senior veterans experience many of the same health issues as non-veteran seniors. But they also face their own unique challenges that private clinics aren’t always well-prepared to manage.
Research shows that 42% of senior veterans are seriously disabled, compared to just one-third of non-veteran seniors, while almost a quarter have multiple disabilities. Those numbers are conservative: getting an official disability rating involves a lot of red tape, and tragically 3,000 veterans die each year before being officially classified as having a disability.
The complexity of caring for senior veterans is only growing. Roughly half of Texas veterans who served in the Gulf War returned with disabilities, and they will face new challenges in providing appropriate care. About half of post-9/11 veterans also suffered emotional trauma while serving, compared to just one-quarter of veterans in previous eras, creating a growing need for mental health services.
The VA is well aware of these issues and is pouring resources into research, innovation and educating health care providers to meet the growing needs of elderly veterans. However, the same cannot be said of private clinics. All too often, civilian doctors lack any real understanding of the unique challenges that former service members face as they age.
In New York, more than four-fifths of private physicians never even ask patients about past military service, making it impossible for them to meet veterans’ unique needs. Research shows that only 2.3% of private clinics in New York are veteran-ready, and many veterans have significantly worse outcomes when they receive care outside the VA system.
To treat senior veterans effectively, the private sector needs an urgent upgrade. This is an area where the VA has an important opportunity to lead. By investing in, training and supporting veteran-aware community-based care providers, the VA can help ensure a high standard of care for aging veterans — while simultaneously easing the strain on their own resources and helping to reduce wait times in VA clinics.
Done right, a public-private collaboration would help all San Antonio seniors. After all, the U.S. is only getting older: Nationally, we’ll have 82 million seniors by 2050. Building veteran-ready private clinics would help San Antonio develop the infrastructure that is needed to provide high-quality care for everyone in the years to come.
Make no mistake: Keeping our nation’s promise to aging veterans must remain a priority. The VA’s hospitals and clinics are doing vital work with limited resources, and they urgently need additional support. But this is a challenge we also need to address at a local level, by building partnerships between San Antonio’s VA health care system and the growing number of private clinics that are now treating elderly veterans.
It’s time for Military City USA to live up to its nickname—and for San Antonio’s public and private healthcare leaders to come together, and collaborate to deliver lifelong, high-quality support for our aging veterans.
