The Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins (“PACT”) Act Act of 2021 (“PACT Act”), became law on August 10, 2022, and provides eligibility for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to Veterans.
Effective March 5, 2024, Veterans in three recently-created cohorts are eligible to enroll in VA health care on an expedited basis. Section 103(a) amends the PACT Act established three “Cohort” categories of eligibility for Veterans to receive care:
(1) Veterans participating in toxic exposure risk activities (“TERA”) while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training;
(2) Veterans who performed active military, naval, air, or space service on or after 08/02/1990 while assigned to a duty station in in certain Middle East locations (including airspace above): Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, or the United Arab Emirates; and Veterans who performed active military, naval, air, or space service on or after 09/11/2001, while assigned to a duty station (including airspace above) in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Uzbekistan, or any other country determined relevant by VA; and
(3) Veterans deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation New Dawn (OND), Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), and Resolute Support Mission (RSM). Veterans in the three cohorts are eligible to enroll in VA health care. The VA plans to screen records of certain priority group enrollees to determine eligibility and will contact eligible Veterans. If you are in a lower Priority Group, you may be able to enroll in a higher priority group if you fall within one of the cohorts.
Exposure to TERA includes, but is not limited to, air pollutants (burn pits, sand, dust, particulates, oil well fires, sulfur fires), chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, depleted uranium with embedded shrapnel, contaminated water), occupational hazards (asbestos, industrial solvents, lead, paints including chemical agent resistant coating, firefighting foams), radiation (nuclear weapons handling, maintenance and detonation, radioactive material, calibration and measurement sources, X-rays, radiation from military occupational exposure), and warfare agents (nerve agents, chemical and biological weapons). This is not an exclusive list, and more exposure categories are available at the VA’s Public Health website.
Veterans must apply (either as a new enrollee on VA Form 10–10EZ, Application for Health Benefits, or as an existing enrollee on VA Form 10– 10EZR, Health Benefits Update Form) for the VA to determine whether they participated in a TERA and are eligible for enrollment in Priority Group 6 on that basis. If the VA has already determined that a Veteran participated in a TERA in the context of a disability claim, that decision will be binding for health care enrollment purposes. Veterans in Cohorts 2 and 3, are those who served in certain locations during certain time periods (generally, during or after the Persian Gulf War) or in support of certain contingency operations (generally after September 11, 2001).
For current enrollees, the VA will review its existing records to determine if the enrollee is a covered Veteran or deployed in support of an identified contingency operation. If the Veteran’s service qualifies, VA will place the Veteran in Priority Group 6 unless the Veteran qualifies for a higher Priority Group. VA will review new applications for enrollment to determine whether the Veteran is eligible for enrollment in Priority Group 6 as a Cohort 2 or Cohort 3 Veteran based on qualifying service.
How to Apply: Any Veteran who wants to apply for new VA health care enrollment can do so by submitting a VA Form 10–10EZ: (1) in-person or by mail to a VA medical facility; (2) by mail to the Health Eligibility Center, 2957 Clairmont Rd., Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30329; (3) online; or (4) by calling 1–877–222–VETS (8387). Veterans enrolled in VA health care who want to apply for an upgrade to their current Priority Group can do so by submitting a VA Form 10–10EZR using any of the four methods described above. Should a Veteran receive an enrollment decision with which they disagree, they can appeal the decision with the VA.
For more information about the PACT Act and your benefits, access https:// www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-andyour-va-benefits/ or contact 1–877–222– VETS (8387). Call PLGPC today for more information or to appeal an adverse eligibility decision.