PACT Act offers long awaited relief for Nation’s veterans who may have been denied in past

On May 25, 2022, US Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough congratulated Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Montana Senator Jon Tester and Ranking Member Kansas Senator Jerry Moran on their work with the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics or (PACT) Act of 2022. 

The Act has passed into law, but now the real work begins. This law addresses health care, presumption of service-connection, research, resources, and other matters related to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during military service.

What this really means is hundreds of thousands of veterans who served in various locations at certain periods of time who were once not eligible for service connected care can now receive VA health care benefits. 

While appearing on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse program, Sheridan VA Health Care System Eligibility and Enrollment administrative officer and veteran of the Iraq War and Global War on Terrorism, Michael Elbrecht, described a military “burn pit” to listeners. 

The VA now automatically presumes that certain disabilities were caused by these pits during military service. This is because of the unique circumstances of a specific veterans military service, which may have caused the presumptive diseases or conditions that for one reason or another cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to have been caused by the service but in most cases, no other cause can be found.  

Many veterans who have served during the more recent conflicts and were exposed to the toxic smoke and fumes from burn pits have developed many debilitating conditions since returning home. Presumptive conditions for airborne hazards and burn pit exposure include, but are not limited to many different types of cancers, chronic bronchitis, and asthma (diagnosed after service) and many others debilitating and life threatening conditions. 

Sheridan VA Health Care System Veterans Benefits Administrator John Goodell told listeners there are lists of presumptive ailments that can be found by veterans, altering them to the conditions that may qualify them for benefits and care. 

Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, a herbicide used in deforestation operations along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, have suffered for years from cancers which developed due to that exposure. Many of those veterans were denied claims by the VA.

According to the US Government Accountability Office, for decades, the VA denied most of these disability claims by Vietnam veterans for three conditions associated with exposure to herbicides like Agent Orange. Before the PACT Act, these conditions—which involve nerve damage, skin cysts, and blistering—must have manifested within one year of service in Vietnam for VA to presume a connection between the condition and exposure. Goodell told listeners that is no longer the case and if a claim was denied in the past, he asks that the veteran return to the VA.

For millions of veterans, the PACT Act will be a godsend. But veterans must register with the VA to begin the process. 

To begin the registration process, click here. 

To see a list of presumptives related to the PACT Act, click here.