Some veterans who received other than honorable discharges for offenses that include misconduct, questionable behavior or homosexuality will be able to apply for health care and benefits at the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA officials announced Thursday.
The VA is expected to amend its regulation regarding what is known as “character of discharge,” or type of discharge, by eliminating a barrier for veterans kicked out for being gay. It also will create an exception for those discharged for misconduct or problems that may be related to mental health issues stemming from combat exposure, discrimination, sexual assault and more.
According to the VA, the department will consider a former service member's length and quality of service, as well as any other confounding issues, to determine whether a veteran is eligible for health care and benefits.
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Details of the new regulation are expected to be published Friday in the Federal Register.
In the past decade, the VA has approved roughly 75% of applications it received under its character of discharge review, providing benefits to more than 57,000 service members.
VA officials said the new regulatory process creates a new path for the department to provide services to former service members.
“Too often, former service members believe that they cannot come to VA due to their discharge status –…
