Zablocki VA Medical Center
MILWAUKEE - The VA launched on Thursday, Dec. 5 a new outreach campaign to encourage all eligible Veterans to enroll in VA health care – including approximately 13,000 unenrolled Wisconsin Veterans who served in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
A news release says the campaign will include text messages and emails directly to Veterans, public service announcements, paid advertising, and events.
Officials said the VA is launching this campaign after reports of concerns from veterans about health issues – including mental health challenges and thoughts of suicide – potentially related to repeated blasts and head trauma (low-level artillery blasts, IEDs, missile launches, heavy fire, and more).
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The news release says this new outreach effort is a part of the largest outreach campaign in VA history. As a result of this campaign, more than 835,000 Veterans have enrolled in VA health care (a 37% increase over the previous period); more than 900,000 Veterans have upgraded their priority groups, making them eligible for health care with fewer copays (an all-time record); and more than 4.4 million Veterans and survivors have applied for disability compensation benefits (another all-time record).
Eligible Veterans can enroll by visiting the VA website or calling 877-222-8387.