The VA (Veterans Affair) Health Care System is one of the largest and most advanced health care networks in the United States The VA Health Care System is the provider for veterans, retirees and their dependents and manages all their healthcare. The VA Health Care is actually a part of the Department of Veterans Affairs. There is also VA benefits administration which has to do with compensation and pensions. Then the other part of the VA is the National Cemetery Administration which is responsible for cemeteries and provides burial and memorial benefits. All of these parts make up the Department of Veterans Affairs. (VA History) In 1636 the "Pilgrims passed a law stating that disabled soldiers would be supported by the colony." (VA History) This paved the way for benefits and healthcare for veterans. It wasn't until 1811 that the federal government authorized the first medical and home facilities along with benefits and pensions for veterans and their families. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Congress created a new system for veterans' benefits such as disability compensation, insurance, and vocational rehabilitation. These benefits were directed by three different agencies of the federal government, these branches were the Veterans Affairs Office, the Department of the Interior's Office of Pensions, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Ten years later Congress authorized the president to “consolidate and coordinate government activities affecting war veterans”; This action merged the three component agencies into offices under the Veterans Administration. Over the next sixty years there was a notable increase in the veteran population and new benefits enacted by congress for veterans following Wo... half of document... nursing homes. To be eligible for VA health care you must have served in the active military and be discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. As a reservist or member of the National Guard you should be called to active duty other than training. After 1980 the veteran would have served for 24 consecutive months, this may not apply to you due to hardship, early leaving or service-connected disability. There are four categories of veterans who are not required to enroll but are encouraged to do so in order to better plan their healthcare resources. Those are; veterans with a service-connected disability of 50% or more, veterans seeking assistance for a disability that the Army determined was service-connected not yet classified by the VA, veterans seeking assistance only for a service-connected disability, and veterans requiring registry exams for things like Agent Orange.