#Middlebury #Veterans #Presumptives #PACTAct
VETERANS POST
By Freddy Groves
Cross your fingers that we’ll see three new presumptives added to the list of medical conditions that the Department of Veterans Affairs uses to consider automatic service connection after toxic exposure.
Getting these new conditions added to the list is part of the PACT Act. The act itself added 20 presumptives to the list when it was signed and covers a wide variety of toxic exposures. There is the water at Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, agent orange, radiation and much more.
Now they are considering adding acute leukemias, chronic leukemias and multiple myeloma outside of the head and neck to the list. The locations include deployment to Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Djibouti, Egypt, Afghanistan, Somalia, Lebanon, Uzbekistan and southeast Asia.
Inclusion on the list of presumptives won’t be immediate – they never are. But scientific reviews have begun, and if they’re approved, we won’t need to prove that the cause of our medical condition was our service in those locations. The assumption will be automatic, as will the benefits.
The current presumptives list includes cancers of the brain, head, kidney, neck, pancreas and many more. Less serious are allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis and others. Of the five conditions most frequently claimed via the PACT Act, hypertensive vascular disease tops the list, with 80% of claims granted.
If you have any of the three new conditions and served in any of those locations, apply for VA health care and benefits right now. Don’t wait until you hear that they’ve been approved. It’s possible you could be approved for care and benefits even before the three new conditions are declared presumptives.
To read more about the PACT Act, check online at www.accesstocare.va.gov/healthcare/pactact. Or see VA.gov/pact for the full list of presumptives and eligible locations, or call them at 800-698-2411. Get Form 10-10EZ to apply for VA health care.
Ask about exposure screenings and get signed up. Get on the books so if you ever need the care, you will have saved several steps.
© 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.
