New concerns over blast exposure have the Veterans Administration engaging in an outreach program to encourage military veterans to enroll in VA healthcare, with a focus on reaching out to the 71,887 unenrolled Virginia veterans who served in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The VA campaign will include text messages and emails directly to veterans, public service announcements, paid advertising and events.
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Eligible veterans can enroll today by visiting the VA website or calling 877-222-8387.
“We take veteran concerns about repeated blast exposure very seriously, and we are studying this matter urgently to learn more about potential health impacts,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said.
“While we do that, we don’t want veterans to wait – they should enroll in VA healthcare today to get full access to primary care, mental healthcare, regular screenings, specialty care, and more. That’s what this outreach effort is all about: getting veterans in our care, because veterans who come to VA are proven to do better,” McDonough said.
VA is launching the new outreach campaign after reports of concerns from veterans about health issues – including mental health challenges and thoughts of suicide – related to repeated blasts and head trauma (low-level artillery blasts, IEDs, missile launches, heavy fire, and more).
Since the first reporting about these concerns, VA researchers have been urgently studying this matter to learn more about the potential health impacts of blast exposure on Veterans.
Veterans enrolled in VA can access specialty screenings and services to address any health issues related to blast exposure. Veterans who served in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and other specific locations are eligible for VA healthcare based on their deployments — they do not need to have any health conditions specifically associated with their service in order to be eligible for care.
This new outreach effort is a part of the largest outreach campaign in VA history that began when President Biden signed the PACT Act into law in 2022 and continues to this day. As a result of this campaign, more than 835,000 veterans have enrolled in VA healthcare (a 37 percent increase over the previous period); more than 900,000 veterans have upgraded their priority groups, making them eligible for health care with fewer copays (an all-time record); and more than 4.4 million veterans and survivors have applied for disability compensation benefits (another all-time record).
The campaign has been focused on bringing new veterans to VA by sending millions of texts and emails, hosting thousands of events nationwide, launching new paid advertising campaigns, working with influencers and companies, and more.
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Chris Graham
