Senator George Borrello partnered with VA Western New York Healthcare System and VFW Post #1602 on Edwards Street in Batavia, to host a Veteran Outreach and Enrollment Event on Thursday.
About 20 people stopped by during the outreach/enrollment event.
“The most popular thing that I get when I do outreach in here, especially is people thinking that they want to save those benefits for someone else because they don’t need it,” says Ashley Haefner, Veterans Outreach Program Specialist.
“They have other insurance, and they don’t want to take it away from someone who might really need it. I tried to debunk that myth. I let them know that the more people that enroll for VA healthcare, the stronger our program gets. So, by just maintaining primary care one appointment every 24 months to maximize their benefits through the VA they’re actually making the system stronger for those other veterans that they are talking about. So that changes a lot of people’s minds. To get them to enroll, they realize this is a pretty good program.”
Haefner says about two thirds of their employees are veterans, so they get to get their health care from peers.
“They also would be eligible for things like urgent care visits and non-VA ER care through extensions, through the mission act to expand their benefits so that they can use those in the community.”
Terry McGuire with VAWNY Healthcare says the people who showed up on Thursday either filed a claim or enrolled in the program.
“An issue that a lot of veterans have when they come to ask about their benefits is that they feel like they’re taking it away from a fellow veteran, which couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s basically the old saying that if you fail to use the system, the system will die on the vine. So, you’re actually helping your buddy or your pal or your comrade or your associate by using the system and ensuring that we provide the capabilities that we can provide,” says Terry McGuire with VA WNY Healthcare.
Haefner says with the recent passage of the PACT Act in March of 2024 more veterans are eligible than in the past.
“It’s also important to note that a lot of the people here, they’re in an 8G deferred status. So, a lot of them have applied for health care at some point in the past, and we’re told that they’re ineligible due to being higher income. So, there’s certain thresholds, if an individual doesn’t have any enhanced eligibility, so Purple Heart, or a service connection, pension, things like that. That’s when we look at household income. Also in the past, a lot of people were told, you make too much money to come to the VA now, with the expansion, with the Pact Act, which is a law that expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances. This law helps us provide to generations of Veterans—and their survivors, we look at Terra, which is toxic exposure, risk activity. So, if they served in Vietnam, that Agent Orange exposure is now eligible also, though people don’t realize, even if they were never deployed, they still may have been exposed in the United States, through different Military Occupational Specialty OS duties,” says Haefner.
If you were unable to make it to the VFW Post #1602 on Edwards Street in Batavia on Thursday, you can always fill out an application online at www.va.gov/health-care/apply/application/ or call to apply at 877-222-8387-Monday-Friday between 8:00a.m. and 8:00p.m.
Also, by mail, download the form at www.va.gov/health-care/how-toapply/
Mail to: Health Eligibility Center, Enrollment Eligibility Division 2957 Clairmont Road NE, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30329-1647