Boozman, Peters Champion Veterans in Hospice Care

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), a senior member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and Gary Peters (D-MI), a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have introduced the Gerald's Law Reauthorization Act of 2026 to ensure terminally ill veterans are not prevented from receiving a monetary burial allowance if they pass away at a facility not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

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Previously, VA was only able to offer funds for burial and funeral expenses for veterans hospitalized at the VA at the time of death through the "Non-Service-Connected Burial and Plot Benefit." Gerald's Law, which Boozman and Peters worked to include in the Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, updated this policy to ensure veterans aren't penalized for remaining in non-VA hospice when they pass away. The legislation is named after Army veteran Gerald "Jerry" Elliot, whose family was denied the benefit after he passed away in a non-VA facility. This bipartisan reauthorization measure would extend the expanded benefit, currently set to expire in October of this year, through 2030.

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"Veterans receiving hospice care who spend their last days in security and familiarity all deserve access to the hard-earned benefits they were promised including their final arrangements," said Boozman. "Allowing the men and women who have worn our nation's uniform to make end-of-life decisions based on comfort - not cost - is only right, and I am pleased to work in a bipartisan fashion to ensure they are laid to rest with this dignity."

"Today, because of late Michigander Gerald Elliot's story, our veterans can no longer be denied critical VA benefits if they choose to receive hospice care outside of a VA facility," said Peters. "Now, it's time to extend the commonsense law that we worked to enact so that our nation's veterans and their families can continue to depend on the burial benefits they have earned during their service."

Gerald's Law has received support from American Veterans (AMVETS), the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Paralyzed Veterans of America, The American Legion, Combined Arms, Disabled American Veterans and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.

The full text of the legislation is available here. <_u13a_p>

Permalink: https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2026/2/boozman-peters-champion-veterans-in-hospice-care