Bipartisan legislation supported by U.S. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills, to expand free COVID-19 vaccine access to veterans and their families has been signed into law by President Joe Biden.
The SAVE LIVES Act, which Peters cosponsored earlier this month, will permit the Department of Veterans Affairs to allocate free vaccination services to all veterans, veteran spouses, caregivers and recipients of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs
SAVE LIVES stands for Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize all Veterans and Every Spouse.
The act will enable them to get COVID-19 vaccines regardless of whether they are enrolled in VA health care. The bipartisan bill will also direct the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that the VA’s vaccine allocation matches this potential increase in the eligibility criteria.
“Our veterans and their families have sacrificed so much in service to our country,” said Peters, a member of the Armed Service Committee, in a statement. “I am pleased President Biden has signed into law the SAVE LIVES Act, which will allow all veterans, their caregivers and their loved ones to receive free COVID-19 vaccines through the VA. This legislation will make a difference as we work to expand access to vaccines and defeat this virus.”
The SAVE LIVES Act will expand the VA’s authority to provide vaccines to:
≤ veterans who are not eligible for enrollment in VA’s health care system, including veterans without compensable service-connected disabilities and veterans who have incomes above a certain threshold;
≤ caregivers of veterans who are enrolled in various VA home-based and long-term care programs;
The SAVE LIVES Act will expand the VA’s authority to provide vaccines to:
≤ veterans who are not eligible for enrollment in VA’s health care system, including veterans without compensable service-connected disabilities and veterans who have incomes above a certain threshold;
≤ caregivers of veterans who are enrolled in various VA home-based and long-term care programs;
≤ veterans living abroad who rely on the Foreign Medical Program;
≤ spouses of veterans; and
≤ CHAMPVA recipients, who are spouses or children of permanently and totally disabled veterans or of veterans who have died from service-connected disabilities.