Record Number of West Virginia Veterans Enroll in VA Healthcare Following PACT Act Expansion

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced that more than 2,000 West Virginia veterans have enrolled in VA healthcare over the past year. This is a 23 percent increase from previous years and a record number of enrollments in the state. The VA attributes the increased enrollment to the expansions in the PACT Act, which allowed the agency to provide health care and benefits to millions of veterans.

As of March 5, 2024, 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 eligibility is part of an aggressive outreach campaign by the VA to ensure that every eligible veteran receives access to quality health care. Nationally, rates of enrollment increased by 30 percent, with this being the most yearly enrollees at the VA in at least five years and a nearly 50 percent increase over pandemic-level enrollment in 2020.

The VA Secretary Denis McDonough stated that “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.” The expansion of eligibility for VA healthcare has led more veterans to seek medical attention for their conditions related to their military service.

Emily Rice is an Appalachia Health News Reporter with WVPB since December 2022 based in Charleston. She has worked as a reporter, photographer, videographer, managing editor for newsprint and magazines since her graduation from Marshall University in 2016. Rice worked as features editor of Bluefield Daily Telegraph before coming to WVPB where she now reports on healthcare issues affecting West Virginia veterans.