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Medical Debt, Credit Card Debt, and Other Financial Debt Among Veterans Who Receive Homeless Assistance in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.

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Title: Medical Debt, Credit Card Debt, and Other Financial Debt Among Veterans Who Receive Homeless Assistance in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.
Authors: Beydoun, Hind A.1,2 (AUTHOR), Szymkowiak, Dorota1 (AUTHOR), Tsai, Jack1,2,3 (AUTHOR) Jack.Tsai2@va.gov
Source: Inquiry (00469580). 4/10/2026, Vol. 63, p1-9. 9p.
Subject Terms: *Scholarships, *Help-seeking behavior, *Financial management, Research funding, T-test (Statistics), Debt, Sex distribution, Logistic regression analysis, Social services, Questionnaires, Descriptive statistics, Chi-squared test, Multivariate analysis, Psychology of veterans, Odds ratio, Taxation, Government programs, Statistics, Homelessness, Quality assurance, Confidence intervals, Medical care costs
Geographic Terms: United States
Abstract: The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system is dedicated to preventing veteran homelessness, but there is limited research on the specific sources of financial debt among homeless veterans. We investigated the proportion of veterans seeking VA homeless services reporting any debt and specific types of outstanding debt, associations between homelessness experiences and debt, and whether these associations vary by sex. Using VA administrative data, we cross-sectionally evaluated various types of outstanding debt among 118 594 homeless and at-risk veterans in the VA healthcare system from fiscal years 2023–2024. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed for history of homelessness experiences in relation to any and different types of financial debt, overall, and by sex. About 48% of veterans in VA homeless programs had outstanding debt, with credit cards being the most prevalent contributors to debt. Outstanding debt related to student loans, child support, medical expenses, and tax bills were significantly associated with greater episodes of recent homelessness. Medical expenses, fines, or other legal obligations were significantly associated with lifetime homelessness duration. Housing loans were associated with shorter duration and fewer episodes of homelessness (over the past 3 years). Similar patterns were observed among male and female veterans. Financial debt is linked to prolonged homelessness among veterans, necessitating increased social services for financial literacy, debt consolidation, and other interventions to mitigate risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Inquiry (00469580) is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Medical Debt, Credit Card Debt, and Other Financial Debt Among Veterans Who Receive Homeless Assistance in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Beydoun%2C+Hind+A%2E%22">Beydoun, Hind A.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Szymkowiak%2C+Dorota%22">Szymkowiak, Dorota</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tsai%2C+Jack%22">Tsai, Jack</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> Jack.Tsai2@va.gov</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Inquiry+%2800469580%29%22">Inquiry (00469580)</searchLink>. 4/10/2026, Vol. 63, p1-9. 9p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scholarships%22">Scholarships</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Help-seeking+behavior%22">Help-seeking behavior</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Financial+management%22">Financial management</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22T-test+%28Statistics%29%22">T-test (Statistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Debt%22">Debt</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex+distribution%22">Sex distribution</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Logistic+regression+analysis%22">Logistic regression analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+services%22">Social services</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Questionnaires%22">Questionnaires</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chi-squared+test%22">Chi-squared test</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multivariate+analysis%22">Multivariate analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology+of+veterans%22">Psychology of veterans</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Odds+ratio%22">Odds ratio</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Taxation%22">Taxation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Government+programs%22">Government programs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistics%22">Statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Homelessness%22">Homelessness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Quality+assurance%22">Quality assurance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Confidence+intervals%22">Confidence intervals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+care+costs%22">Medical care costs</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system is dedicated to preventing veteran homelessness, but there is limited research on the specific sources of financial debt among homeless veterans. We investigated the proportion of veterans seeking VA homeless services reporting any debt and specific types of outstanding debt, associations between homelessness experiences and debt, and whether these associations vary by sex. Using VA administrative data, we cross-sectionally evaluated various types of outstanding debt among 118 594 homeless and at-risk veterans in the VA healthcare system from fiscal years 2023–2024. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed for history of homelessness experiences in relation to any and different types of financial debt, overall, and by sex. About 48% of veterans in VA homeless programs had outstanding debt, with credit cards being the most prevalent contributors to debt. Outstanding debt related to student loans, child support, medical expenses, and tax bills were significantly associated with greater episodes of recent homelessness. Medical expenses, fines, or other legal obligations were significantly associated with lifetime homelessness duration. Housing loans were associated with shorter duration and fewer episodes of homelessness (over the past 3 years). Similar patterns were observed among male and female veterans. Financial debt is linked to prolonged homelessness among veterans, necessitating increased social services for financial literacy, debt consolidation, and other interventions to mitigate risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Inquiry (00469580) is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=192937300
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  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1177/00469580261440182
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 9
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Scholarships
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Help-seeking behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Financial management
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: T-test (Statistics)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Debt
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sex distribution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Logistic regression analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social services
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Questionnaires
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Chi-squared test
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Multivariate analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychology of veterans
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Odds ratio
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Taxation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Government programs
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Homelessness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Quality assurance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Confidence intervals
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Medical care costs
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United States
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Medical Debt, Credit Card Debt, and Other Financial Debt Among Veterans Who Receive Homeless Assistance in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.
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            NameFull: Szymkowiak, Dorota
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              Text: 4/10/2026
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              Y: 2026
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