VA to hold McAllen enrollment event for new law

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A new law makes all veterans exposed to toxins or other hazards while serving the country at home or abroad — including all veterans who served in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan or any other combat zone after Sept. 11, 2001 — now eligible for VA health care.

On May 8, the McAllen VA Outpatient Clinic will host a VA healthcare enrollment event aimed at informing veterans, their families and survivors about the PACT Act, which expanded benefits for injuries, while urging them to apply.

The event comes after the VA announced all veterans exposed to toxins or other hazards while serving in the military — at home or abroad — are eligible to directly enroll in VA health care beginning March 5, 2024.

Now, all veterans who served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Global War on Terror or other combat zones after Sept. 11, 2001, will be eligible to directly enroll in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits, while veterans never deployed but exposed to toxins or hazards while training or on active duty in the United States are also eligible to enroll.

So far, 177,671 Texas veterans have applied for PACT Act-related benefits while 32,204 veterans have enrolled in VA health care since the PACT Act was signed into law on Aug. 10, 2022.

The VA is urging all eligible veterans and survivors to apply today at www.VA.gov/PACT.