AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Senators from New England and North Carolina want to expand health care options for veterans who suffered exposure to toxic substances.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire said the Toxic Exposure in the American Military Act would improve how veterans exposed to the substances receive care and benefits. Collins said the act would make sure that treatment for conditions related to toxic exposures would be covered at no cost to the patient.

The act would also require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into agreements with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to review scientific evidence about associations between diseases and toxic exposure during military service, the senators said.

Collins said veterans “who were exposed to toxic substances while bravely serving our nation in uniform deserve the full health care benefits that they earned.”

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