UK Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Annual Statistics 6 April 2005 to 31 March 2022
Abstract: This annual bulletin provides summary statistics on claims and awards made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). The AFCS is a no-fault scheme, which financially compensates for injury/illness and death caused by service in the UK Armed Forces on or after 6 April 2005. The revised report issued in April 2023 replaces the report published 22nd June 2022 in which an error was identified.
Abstract: Background: Enactment of the Veterans Choice Act (VCA) in 2014 and expansion of Medicaid programs led to greater options for Veterans to receive health care outside of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). However, little is known about how much care women Veterans receive in VA or non-VA settings paid by VA or other insurance types. We explore trends in inpatient care received by women Veterans before and after implementation of the VCA, focusing on hospitalizations, as these patients are often higher risk. Methods: Data for women Veterans were linked to hospital discharge data for 2013-2017 from 11 diverse states. Patient and hospital characteristics by VA and non-VA payer and age group (less than 65 years and 65 years and older) were compared for acute hospitalizations in Pearson's chi-square and analysis of variance tests. We compared the odds of a hospitalization occurring before and after VCA implementation for each specific setting/payer using separate logistic regressions. Results: Our sample included 117,177 acute medical/surgical hospitalizations. For younger women, the most common hospital setting/payer was VA hospitals (36%); older women most frequently received hospital care in non-VA hospitals covered by Medicare (61%). After the VCA, the probability of receiving VA-purchased care increased significantly for older women only. Younger women saw a significant decrease in VA hospitalizations post-VCA. Conclusions: We found that after multiple expansions in non-VA health care options, women Veterans sought more VA-purchased community hospital care.