SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Veterans looking for answers about the PACT Act are invited to a community town hall gathering Wednesday at the local Veterans Affairs clinic.
A health care enrollment event at 3110 Hamilton Blvd. is open to veterans and their families to ask questions and learn more about the benefits available to them.
"The area has the most unenrolled veterans for VA health care."John Baloga, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre
"The Allentown VA clinic is our biggest community-based outpatient clinic and also the area has the most unenrolled veterans for VA health care,” said John Baloga, the public affairs specialist with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre.
The community town hall and enrollment event is free and open to the public.
Baloga said the purpose is to help veterans in two ways;
“One, it will provide our veterans and their families an open forum, so they can speak and hear directly from VA officials," he said. "Secondly, it will allow veterans who have never applied for VA health care or were at one time deemed ineligible, a great opportunity to start the enrollment process in determining eligibility."
The PACT Act is a law that expands VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
VA health care eligibility criteria change over time and have expanded recently with the changes to the PACT Act.
Those who are not currently enrolled, or who were previously ineligible, can do so at the event and will have help provided by staff members.
The VA is making all veterans exposed to toxins or other hazards while serving eligible to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits.
This comes as the Department of Veterans Affairs expected to hit 1 million PACT Act-related disability compensation claims this week to veterans and survivors. The bill was signed into law in August 2022. Since then, the department reports granting 27,520 claims to veterans and survivors in Pennsylvania.
Wednesday’s meeting is part of an ongoing effort to provide local veterans with an open forum, organizers said. It’s also an opportunity for VA officials to “hear directly from beneficiaries as a step toward improvement and to rebuild trust among veterans,” according to a news release.
