Veterans Affairs' health, benefits app passes 3 million downloads

June 6 (UPI) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs' Health and Benefits mobile app has achieved more than 3 million downloads, or nearly 20% of all veterans, since its launch in 2021.
The app has 1.4 million active users, according to an agency news release Friday on the 81st anniversary of D-Day, which was the Allies' amphibious invasion of German-occupied France.
The app provides veterans access to healthcare and benefits information from their mobile phones, and features fingerprint and face recognition. Users can refill and track VA prescriptions, review appointments, review claims and appeals status, submit evidence for claims and appeals, review VA payment and direct deposit information, locate the closest VA facilities, access the Veterans Crisis Line and show proof of veteran status.
"We encourage all VA-enrolled Veterans to stay connected and informed by downloading the app," Eddie Pool, acting assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and acting chief information officer, said in a news release.
In all, there are 15.8 million veterans, which represents 6.1% of the civilian population 18 year and older. Of those, 7.8 million served in the Gulf War era between 1990 and now, 5.6 million during the Vietnam era from 1950 to 1073, 767,000 during the Korean conflict in the 1940s and 1950s, and less than 120,000 World War II veterans, according to Pew Research in 2023.
As of 2023, 78% of veterans served during wartime.
The Department of Veterans Affairs employs approximately 482,000 people, including 500,000 workers at 170 hospitals and 1,200 local clinics in the nation's largest health care system.
Like with other agencies, the agency is being downsized with plans to cut 83,000 jobs.

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