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Saginaw , MI — Today, VA announced that all Veterans who were exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving in the military – at home or abroad – are now eligible to enroll directly in

VA health care. This means that all Veterans who served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Global War on Terror, or any other combat zone after 9/11 are eligible to

enroll in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits. Additionally, Veterans who never deployed but were exposed to toxins or hazards while training or on active duty in the

United States are eligible to enroll. As directed by President Biden, this expansion of VA health care eliminates the phased-in approach called for by the PACT Act – meaning that millions of

Veterans are becoming eligible for VA health care up to eight years earlier than written into law. This is a critical step forward because Veterans who are enrolled in VA health care are

proven to have better health outcomes than non-enrolled Veterans, and VA hospitals have dramatically outperformed non-VA hospitals in overall quality ratings and patient satisfaction

ratings. Additionally, VA health care is often more affordable than non-VA health care for Veterans. VA encourages all eligible Veterans to visit VA.gov/PACT or call 1-800-MYVA411 to learn

more and apply for VA health care today. Since President Biden signed the PACT Act into law on August 10, 2022, more than 264,548 Veterans have enrolled in VA health care. “If you’re a

Veteran who may have been exposed to toxins or hazards while serving our country, at home or abroad, we want you to come to us for the health care you deserve,” said VA Secretary Denis

McDonough. “VA is proven to be the best, most affordable health care in America for Veterans – and once you’re in, you have access for life. So don’t wait, enroll today.” “Today, we’re

making millions of Veterans eligible for VA health care years earlier than called for by the PACT Act,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal, M.D. “With this expansion, VA can

care for all Veterans who served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Global War on Terror, or any other combat zone after 9/11. We can also care for Veterans who never

deployed but were exposed to toxins or hazards while training or on active duty here at home – by working with chemicals, pesticides, lead, asbestos, certain paints, nuclear weapons, x-rays,

and more. We want to bring all of these Veterans to VA for the care they’ve earned and deserve.” “We are delighted to see VA expand access to VA health care, stated Carol Dopp, Interim

Medical Center Director. We take pride in delivering the best care to our nation’s heroes who served to protect our freedom. It is important to get registered for care, even if Veterans

aren’t experiencing any symptoms now, they can develop down the road.” In addition to expanding access to VA care, this decision makes it quicker and easier for millions of Veterans to

enroll. Many Veterans believe they must apply to receive VA disability compensation benefits to become eligible for VA health care, but this is not correct. With this expansion and other

authorities, millions of eligible Veterans can enroll directly in VA care – without any need to first apply for VA benefits. This expansion of care covers Vietnam Veterans, Gulf War

Veterans, Iraq War Veterans, Afghanistan War Veterans, Veterans who deployed in support of contingency operations for the Global War on Terror (Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation

Freedom’s Sentinel, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Operation Inherent Resolve, and Resolute Support Mission), and more. This expansion also covers many Veterans who never

deployed as a part of a conflict but were exposed to toxins or hazards while serving in the U.S. Specifically, under this expansion of care, any Veteran who participated in a toxic exposure

risk activity (TERA) – at home or abroad – is eligible for VA health care. VA has determined that Veterans who were exposed to one or more of the following hazards or conditions during

active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training participated in a TERA: 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); warfare agents (nerve agents, chemical and biological weapons); and more. VA will use all available information to determine if Veterans participated in a TERA,

including military records and service connection. VA is executing a nationwide campaign to ensure that as many Veterans as possible enroll. To date, VA’s PACT Act outreach campaign has

included more than 2,500 events nationwide, $13 million in paid advertising, 88,000 earned media clips, more than 400 million emails and letters to Veterans, VA’s first-ever text messaging

campaign, the creation of a one-stop-shop PACT Act website, and more. This is the largest outreach campaign in VA history, which has one goal in mind: ensure that all Veterans – and their

survivors – get the health care and benefits they deserve under the PACT Act. For more information about how the PACT Act is helping Veterans and their survivors, visit VA’s PACT Act

Dashboard. To apply for care or benefits today, visit VA.gov/PACT or call 1-800-MYVA411. More information on eligibility can be found at VA.gov/PACT. The Aleda E. Lutz VAMC in Saginaw,

Michigan operates an 81-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation Community Living Center. It provides care to over 40,171 Veterans in a 35-county geographic area, from mid-Michigan to the

Mackinac Bridge. Veterans can also receive care at one of our nine VA Community Based Outpatient Clinics located throughout Michigan. More information about this VA can be found at

https://www.va.gov/saginaw-health-care/.