Eligible veterans could be automatically enrolled in VA health care programs after leaving the military, if a bill passed by the House on Jan. 20 is made law.
“This helps simplify the process and prevents veterans from potentially missing out on life-saving care,” said VA Committee Chair Mark Takano (D-Calif.), the bill’s sponsor. “It also keeps veterans from having to opt-in to VA care later and attempt to navigate a new bureaucracy on their own.”
Takano addressed the House to speak on HR4673, the “Ensuring Veterans’ Smooth Transition, or EVEST, Act,” claiming the bill will help veterans’ transitioning to civilian life.
Takano mentioned the mental health packages passed during the last Congress, including the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Improvement Act, which will work to bolster veteran suicide prevention programs, and the Veterans’ COMPACT Act, which contained nine provisions to improve care for homeless and female veterans, as well as family education.
The Sgt. Ketchum Rural Veterans Mental Health Act was also recently signed into law. It will work to expand access to mental and medical health treatment for veterans who live in remote areas.
“But there is always more work to be done,” Takano told fellow House legislators.
The bill will need to be passed in the Senate before it reaches President Joe Biden’s desk for signature.
Author: Jared Morgan
Jared is the senior editor and web team lead for the Department of California and chair of its Media & Communications Commission. He became a member of the American Legion in 2014 when he joined Palisades Post 283 to find stories about veterans issues for a local newspaper while working as its news editor. He was soon brought in as 283's assistant adjutant and historian to help produce the post's award-winning community newspaper. Since then, Jared has used his media skills to help further the efforts of The American Legion in its advocacy of veterans and their families. Jared has also worked for several years to help revitalize the 100-year-old Santa Monica Post 123, formerly as its adjutant and as a member of its executive board, before transferring back to Post 283.
