Nearly 50,000 veterans have already used a little known emergency suicide crisis benefit that allows eligible veterans and some former service members to walk into any VA or community emergency room and receive VA funded care, even if they are not enrolled in VA health care.

The benefit comes through the COMPACT Act, a law signed during President Trump’s first term that was meant to cut through the usual paperwork swamp when a veteran is standing at the edge. For once, Washington created something that can actually meet a crisis before the bureaucracy finds a clipboard.

Retired Navy Master Chief David Hull learned about the benefit only after his life had collapsed during the 2025 government shutdown. He had struggled after leaving the military, rebuilt his footing, then lost his job and suddenly could not provide for his three children.

“I didn’t always consider taking my own life,” Hull said. “It wasn’t until I felt like I had no one and nowhere to go.”

“It’s easy to sink into feeling nothingness when you can’t see your value anymore or you become disconnected from your purpose,” he said.

One night, after putting his children to bed, Hull searched online for combinations of pills he believed would end his life. As he poured medication into one bottle, he knocked an empty container onto the floor, drawing the attention of his daughter.

“She looked up at me with her big brown eyes,” Hull recalled, his voice breaking. “It cracked me wide open.”

Hull left his children with a neighbor and drove to Garrett Regional Medical Center in Oakland, Maryland. He was not enrolled in VA health care, had no health insurance and had never heard that eligible veterans could receive emergency suicide crisis care at a community hospital with VA covering the bill.

“I just needed someone to help clear my head and get me straight again,” Hull said. “I was circling the drain. On the precipice of having no home, no food, no money and no job with a promise of a better tomorrow. Nothing.”

About 40 minutes after arriving, Hull was evaluated by an emergency physician who told him he would be cared for. A hospital social worker later explained that the VA would cover both his emergency treatment and the care that followed.

“I was shocked to find out that I could be seen for free after they identified me as a veteran,” Hull said.

The Emergency Suicide Crisis Benefit was created under the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, known as the COMPACT Act. It covers emergency evaluation, treatment, inpatient or crisis residential care when clinically appropriate and up to 90 days of outpatient follow up care.

VA data provided to Military Times shows 49,341 veterans have received the benefit since fiscal 2023. That includes just over 10,000 in fiscal 2023, 14,666 in fiscal 2024, 15,218 in fiscal 2025 and 9,434 during the first half of fiscal 2026.

“The number of Veterans receiving the COMPACT Act’s Emergent Suicide Crisis Benefit has grown steadily since its inception in FY23,” VA Press Secretary Quinn Slaven said.

VA spent nearly $110 million on acute suicide crisis care in fiscal 2025, the highest total yet. Slaven said VA reviews eligible cases, educates veterans and community emergency staff and works with providers so veterans do not get blindsided by surprise medical bills after seeking help.

According to VA, 72 percent of veterans who have used the benefit later enrolled in VA health care. That matters because a crisis visit can become the first real doorway into longer term care.

Still, veteran advocates say the program remains far too obscure. “DAV believes awareness of the safety net created by the COMPACT Act remains lower than it should be,” Jon Retzer, DAV’s national legislative director, said.

Retzer said many veterans wrongly believe they must already be enrolled in VA health care, have a service connected disability rating or report to a VA medical center for the benefit to apply. “Many veterans remain uncertain whether an emergency room visit will generate medical debt or whether VA will ultimately cover the care,” Retzer said. “That uncertainty can discourage veterans from seeking treatment during a crisis when immediate intervention is critical.”

Army Reserve Prevention Integrator David Arthur said the same confusion shows up often, especially among older veterans and those living far from VA hospitals. Rural veterans may live more than an hour from a VA medical center, while nearby outpatient clinics usually do not handle emergencies.

“When they are in a crisis, in my experience with suicidal soldiers and vets, they are not even thinking about that,” Arthur said. “But those thoughts are huge barriers, especially the cost.”

“I want every vet to know they can go to any ER or hospital,” Arthur continued.

Hull used the full 90 days of follow up care before enrolling in VA health care. “I don’t know if I could have afforded the treatment I received after that night without the VA,” Hull said. “And I don’t know that I’d be enrolled with the VA now without the care I experienced.”

“I wish so many of my brothers and sisters knew that this was an option,” Hull said. “It doesn’t matter if you have insurance. It doesn’t matter if you’re a patient in the VA system. None of that matters. There are no strings attached. No barriers to being seen. This is a gift that every veteran needs to know they’re eligible for.”

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