Dear Friends,

One year ago, I worked with my colleagues in Congress to pass the Honoring Our PACT Act, the most significant expansion of veterans’ benefits in decades. The PACT Act expands health care and benefit options by:

• expanding the time period for post-9/11 veterans to enroll in VA health care, 
  
• strengthening coverage for illnesses related to radiation, Agent Orange, Gulf War toxins, and burn pit exposures, 
  
• adding 23 toxic exposure-related conditions to the VA’s list of service-connected presumptive illnesses, 
  
• and dedicating new resources at the VA to process claims.  

The period to enroll in VA health care for post-9/11 veterans discharged on or after October 1, 2013, has been expanded from five to ten years. There is an ongoing open enrollment period for veterans discharged or released before that date, but you must enroll by October 1st. To learn more about health coverage through the VA and apply, visit VA.gov/health-care. 

Full eligibility information can be found online at VA.gov/PACT or by calling 1-800-MyVA411. Since the PACT Act was signed into law, more than 700,000 claims have been filed, and $1.4 billion in related benefits have been delivered to veterans. 

If you suffer from a service-connected illness, you can file a new claim here. There is no deadline to file a claim, but you must submit intent to file by this Wednesday, August 9th, to receive backdated benefits to 2022. Veterans who were previously denied a claim that is now a presumptive condition can file a supplemental claim at va.gov/decision-reviews/supplemental-claim. 

If you, your spouse, or someone you know may be impacted by this new law, but are unsure how to access benefits, please reach out to my office at 860-278-8888 for assistance. To follow what I’m working on both in Washington and in Connecticut, visit my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, or follow me on Instagram.     

Regards,

John B. Larson
Member of Congress