The Next PACT Act Deadline: Health Care Enrollment for Illinois Veterans who deployed to Combat Zones

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This special enrollment period gives Veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other combat zones an opportunity to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits.  

VA encourages all eligible Illinois Veterans to visit VA.gov/PACT or call 1-800-MYVA411 to learn more and sign up for VA health care before the deadline. 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. 

This special enrollment period is a part of the PACT Act, the largest expansion of VA health care and benefits in generations. Since President Biden signed the PACT Act into law on August 10, 2022, more than 344,000 Veterans have enrolled in VA health care and more than 4.2 million enrolled Veterans have been screened for toxic exposures. In Illinois alone, more than 21,759 Veterans have received PACT Act benefits and more than 224,357 Veterans have enrolled in VA care.            

“Are you a Veteran who deployed to a combat zone but never enrolled in VA health care? If you left active duty between September 11, 2001, and October 1, 2013, you should sign up now,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “Even if you don’t need this care now, you may need it in the future – and once you’re in, you have access for life. But don’t wait – the deadline is September 30 – so go to VA.gov/PACT and apply today.”

Although this deadline is written into law for this specific group of Veterans, many other groups of Veterans are able to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits – including many Vietnam Veterans, Gulf War Veterans, Veterans who deployed to a combat zone and transitioned out of the service less than 10 years ago, and more. Veterans who do not meet any of the above criteria can often still access VA health care by filing for VA benefits or based on income. If a Veteran is granted service connection for any health condition, they become eligible for VA care.

The PACT Act also expanded VA benefits for millions of Veterans, making more than 300 health conditions “presumptive” for service connection. This means that if an eligible Veteran has one of these health conditions, VA automatically assumes that the condition was caused by the Veteran’s service and provides compensation and care accordingly. Since the PACT Act was signed into law, VA has delivered more than $1.85 billion in PACT Act benefits to Veterans and their survivors. VA encourages Veterans and their survivors to apply for these benefits now at VA.gov/PACT.