Special PACT Act Enrollment Period for Veterans Ends in September

Post-9/11 combat veterans who served between 2001 and 2013 have until Sept. 30 to enroll in Department of Veterans Affairs health care. The date will conclude a one-year "special enrollment period" provided by the PACT Act.

This provision of the PACT Act took effect in 2022. The act’s full name is the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics. It gave the potential to receive compensation to millions of veterans or their survivors who were exposed to radiation and toxic chemicals while in uniform, going back to the 1960s.

The VA enrollment period for post-9/11 combat vets is meant to get those veterans deemed to have been exposed to toxins based on their deployments onto the VA's rolls and into care in which the providers are cognizant of toxic exposures, said Cory Titus, an Army infantry veteran and director with the Military Officers Association of America who led the association's PACT Act advocacy.

The bill automatically assumes troops who served in certain locations were exposed. Once enrolled, veterans' individual circumstances will dictate how much care they'll actually be eligible to receive.


How to Apply for VA Health Care
Veterans may apply for VA health care:
Online at https://www.va.gov/health-care/apply/application/introduction.
By calling 877-222-8387.
By mail. Send VA Form 10-10EZ to Health Eligibility Center, 2957 Clairmont Road, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30329.
In person at a VA medical center or clinic.