Health Affairs: All Veterans Deserve Comprehensive Dental Care

Of the more than nine million veterans who are eligible for medical care through the VHA, approximately 1.8 million are also eligible for dental care. Among veterans eligible for dental care, a third use that benefit annually—inclusive of the community care network (CCN). The CCN is a private network of VA-affiliated providers available to eligible veterans who cannot get care in a VA facility due to long wait times or geographic distance. The PACT Act of 2022, considered to be the largest health care and benefit expansion in VA history, increased dental eligibility by 330,000 veterans. Still, many veterans report struggling with access to affordable dental care. The influx of eligible veterans has strained an already overburdened health care infrastructure within the VHA, extending beyond what even CCN can manage. 

In this Health Affairs article, with research from CareQuest Institute, learn more about the barriers to oral health care veterans face.