Ahead of Veterans Day, Biden administration officers stated Friday the Department of Veterans Affairs will increase well being care protection for sure teams of veterans and their households and create new applications meant to make care extra accessible.

The VA will make protection of sure poisonous burn pit-related circumstances obtainable prior to anticipated. Family members of veterans who served at North Carolina’s Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from 1953-1987 can be eligible to have the prices of treating Parkinson’s illness. And all World War II veterans can be eligible for no-cost well being care, together with at nursing houses, the division stated in a collection of stories releases.

The administration will even create a brand new graduate medical training program to assist increase well being care availability for veterans in rural, tribal and different underserved communities, the division stated. And the VA will spend $5 million on an promoting marketing campaign aimed toward having extra veterans join companies.

“As we head into Veterans Day, we’re reminded of the fundamental promise that our country makes to anyone who signs up to serve in the military: If you fight for us, we’ll fight for you,” Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Tanya Bradsher instructed reporters on a Thursday name prematurely of the bulletins.

The administration introduced 5 modifications meant to increase veterans’ advantages.

The VA will velocity up protection for burn pit publicity that was a part of a bipartisan legislation passed last year.

The legislation, which offers well being care advantages to veterans uncovered to poisonous chemical substances from burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan and sure different veterans, was written to be phased in over not more than 10 years.

But President Joe Biden is directing the VA to make all affected veterans eligible for expanded advantages by early subsequent yr, in accordance with a White House reality sheet.

The Camp Lejeune Family Member Program can be expanded to cowl Parkinson’s illness. The program, which covers a number of circumstances associated to the contaminated consuming water on the base, didn’t beforehand embody Parkinson’s.

Veterans of World War II who served anytime from Dec. 7, 1941, to the tip of 1946, are entitled to no-cost VA well being care, which means no co-pays or month-to-month premiums, the division stated. That consists of care at nursing houses.

To increase availability, the division can be making a pilot program to reimburse residents and residency applications, together with these outdoors of VA amenities, that serve veteran sufferers. The program would fund 100 physicians in rural, tribal and underserved communities, in accordance with a VA information launch.

And to encourage veterans to benefit from their advantages, the division is planning a nationwide promoting marketing campaign centered on “some of the most tangible, cost-saving benefits” veterans are entitled to, in accordance with the VA.

The multimedia marketing campaign will tout the low-cost or no-cost well being care, training, residence mortgage and memorial service applications, the VA stated.