VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System to conduct virtual Veteran town hall for Lake, Portage, Geauga, Stark, and Cuyahoga County Veterans

VA recently expanded health care eligibility for millions of Veterans nationwide, years earlier than called for by the PACT Act. 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 served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Global War on Terror, or any other combat zone after 9/11, can enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA disability benefits. Additionally, Veterans who never deployed, but were exposed to toxins or hazards while training or on active duty in the United States, are also eligible to enroll. VA also recently expanded health care to all World War II Veterans. 

Additionally, the town hall will review reasons to reconsider VA enrollment – including the fact VA hospitals outperformed non-VA hospitals on all 10 core patient satisfaction metrics — including overall hospital rating, communication with doctors, communication about medication, willingness to recommend the hospital, and more in Medicare’s latest nationwide survey of patients. VA health care has also consistently outperformed non-VA care in peer-reviewed studies, overall quality ratings and affordability for Veterans. 

The town hall will be an audio/phone-dial-in event with visuals available within a simultaneous Facebook Live event. Participants are encouraged to call 855-962-0953 early to be assured of one of the 10,000 slots available for the call, and to follow along at www.facebook.com/ClevelandVAMC.

VANEOHS serves nearly 140,000 Veterans enrolled across 21 counties in northeast Ohio and seeks to have all eligible Veterans enroll for primary and specialty care from the Cleveland VA Medical Center and/or the 12 other clinic locations including clinics in Willoughby and Ravenna. 

This town hall is an example of how the VA continues to aggressively reach out to Veterans to encourage them to come to VA for the healthcare benefits they have earned. VA encourages all Veterans, family members, caregivers, and survivors to learn more about VA to understand how VA fits into their lives, and apply for their world-class health care and earned benefits today. Veterans in Cuyahoga and Medina counties will be called to be advised of the town hall in advance.

Damien Horvath, Public Affairs Officer

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