HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Federal officials have seen an increase in the number of Guam veterans enrolling for health care within the last year.
The Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Guam time, announced in a press release that 437 Guam veterans have enrolled in VA health care in the last 365 days.
The VA said in the release that the numbers showed “22.41% more than it enrolled the previous year.”
The increase trends similarly to nationwide VA enrollment numbers, the department said.
“(Nationally), VA enrolled 401,006 veterans in VA health care over the past 365 days – 30% more than the 307,831 it enrolled the previous year,” the VA said.
According to the VA, it’s the highest enrollment numbers seen in the last 5 years, “And nearly a 50% increase over pandemic-level enrollment in 2020,” the VA said.
The increases are attributed to The Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, known as the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, and an aggressive outreach initiative, “which has allowed VA to expand VA health care and benefits to millions of veterans. VA is also conducting the most aggressive outreach campaign in its history, including hosting over 2,600 events since the passage of the PACT Act,” the department said in the release.
Because of the PACT Act’s expanded eligibility, as of March 5, “all veterans who were exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving in the military and meet certain requirements became eligible to enroll directly in VA health care.”
This means all veterans who deployed to the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Global War on Terror, or any other combat zone after 9/11 will be eligible to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits, the department said in the release.
With 550 events scheduled for this year, the VA said, “enrolling veterans in health care is a top priority for VA and the Biden-Harris administration because VA has proven to be the best care in America for veterans.”
“We want every eligible veteran to enroll in VA health care for one simple reason: veterans who come to VA are proven to have better health outcomes – and pay less – than veterans who don’t,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in the release. “That’s why we’ve spent the past year meeting veterans where they are – hosting thousands of events, sending millions of texts, advertising on every corner, and much more – to get them to come to VA. This aggressive outreach campaign has led more veterans to enroll in VA care than during any year in at least a decade, and we’re not slowing down now.”
In fact, the VA’s Veteran Health Administration has brought in 61,000 new hires and asserted that they can serve the new enrollees, VA said in the release.
A memorial for combat wounded veterans is displayed at The Purple Heart and Gold Star Families Memorial Site at Skinner Plaza in Hagåtña on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
