Patients who receive hospice care through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will now have access to burial benefits.

The VA is implementing provisions of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Act. The omnibus legislation, passed last Congress, is designed to overhaul and improve benefits for veterans. Two key elements include permitting veterans who die on hospice to receive burial benefits and also allowing them to seek VA coverage for Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) services.

“VA is working hard to fully implement the many provisions of the Dole Act,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement. “We’re excited to offer this expanded benefit, which better supports Veterans who choose to spend their final days at home, surrounded by their loved ones.”

When eligible veterans die, many of their families are entitled to a financial benefit from the VA to defray some of the costs of funerals and cremation or burial. However, before the Dole Act, when a veteran transitioned from a VA facility to hospice, they lost access to that benefit. This was even the case when hospice care is provided by the VA itself.

The Dole Act specifies veterans eligible for the benefits are those who are discharged from VA-provided medical or nursing care to receive VA-provided hospice care at their home and who pass away between July 1, 2025, and Oct. 1, 2026.