WASHINGTON, D.C. — Veterans outside the Department of Veterans Affairs health system continued to face sharply higher suicide risks in 2024, when 6,488 veterans died by suicide and nearly two-thirds of those deaths involved people who had not recently received VA health care.
The VA’s 2026 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, covering data from 2001 through 2024, found an average of 17.7 veteran suicides per day in the latest year available.
The divide between veterans enrolled in Veterans Health Administration care and those outside the system was pronounced. Suicide rates among VHA enrollees declined 2.2% between 2001 and 2024, while rates among unenrolled veterans increased 70.8%.
That divergence persisted in the latest annual comparison. From 2023 to 2024, the suicide rate among VHA enrollees fell 4.8%, while the rate among veterans who were not enrolled increased 3.7%.
About 62% of veterans who died by suicide in 2024 had not received VA health care during the year of their death or the preceding year.
The findings put greater weight on the VA’s effort to bring veterans into its health system. The share of veterans enrolled in VHA care increased from 19.5% in 2001 to 50.1% in 2024.
“VA healthcare saves lives, so we’re making every effort to get more Veterans into the system to get the care and benefits they’ve earned,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said.
The department reported enrolling more than 280,000 new veterans in VA health care in 2026 through an outreach campaign aimed in part at reaching veterans outside the system.
A separate effort with civilian health care providers has identified and contacted 140,000 veterans considered at risk since the Veterans Interoperability Pledge launched in February 2025. About 40% had not recently received VA care.
The VA and Department of War also signed an agreement in May 2025 intended to improve the transition from military service, another point at which the government is seeking to connect veterans with health services.
The department has expanded suicide-risk screening as well. Through August 2026, the VA completed more than 5.5 million screenings, approximately 100,000 more than during the comparable 2025 period.
Demand for crisis services also continued to rise. The Veterans Crisis Line handled more than 1.3 million calls, chats and text messages during fiscal 2026, an increase of more than 7% from the same period a year earlier.
Nearly 50,000 eligible veterans have used emergency suicide-prevention care at emergency departments without cost since 2023 under benefits provided by the Veterans Comprehensive Prevention, Access to Care, and Treatment Act of 2020.
The VA is also using community organizations to reach veterans who may not interact with its health system. Its Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program recently awarded about $112 million to 191 organizations.
About 17,000 veterans, service members and family members received services through Fox grant recipients in 2025, an increase of more than 4,000 from 2024.
The department provides same-day emergency mental health care at VA health facilities and has been reviewing its suicide-prevention programs to measure their effectiveness and determine where resources should be expanded or changed.
“There is much more work to be done,” Collins said, “and we will continue to improve our efforts to fight the scourge of Veteran suicide.”
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