Veterans im-PACT-ed by new federal act

The PACT Act is the most significant expansion of benefits and services for veterans in over 30 years.

The Barnwell County Veterans Affairs Office’s Jan. 19 Let’s Talk: Veterans Supporting Veterans event hosted by Joyce Nickens-Brooks at the Barnwell County Veterans Affairs Office welcomed Columbia Veterans Affairs (VA) Officer Marlon Hinds to break down the federal act.

The PACT Act brings veterans the “entitlements and benefits that you’ve earned and deserve,” said Hinds.

This legislation removes the need for veterans to prove they were exposed to toxins during military service which resulted in a disability or chronic illness. Under the PACT Act, a veteran’s condition is presumed to be caused by their time in service if in one of the identified locations at the identified times.

President Joe Biden passed The Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins (PACT) Act on August 10, 2022 “delivering on his promise to strengthen health care and benefits for America’s veterans and their survivors,” states a brief from The White House.

Although it has a long name, the PACT Act lessens the complication for veterans in need of compensation for service-related disabilities cared for by the VA.

It brings five major changes:

1. Expands and extends eligibility for VA health care for veterans who have been exposed to toxins, and veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-911 eras.

2. Adds over 20 presumptive conditions for burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic exposures.

3. Adds more presumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation.

4. Requires VA to provide toxic exposure screening to every veteran enrolled in VA health care.

5. Helps improve research, staff education, and treatment related to toxic exposures.

When first enrolled in VA health services, veterans are given a disability rating if their disability connects to their military service. Before the PACT Act was expanded, veterans were asked to prove via a VA medical professional that their disability is directly linked to their time serving.

According to the consensus of participants at the Let’s Talk: Veterans Helping Veterans event, proving this connection can be difficult. However, there were some disabilities or conditions that are assumed to be caused by military service known as presumptive conditions.

Now with the expansion of the PACT Act, if a veteran has a condition and was in the correct location while serving to be exposed to a toxin that would cause it, the VA will presume it was caused by their service without the veteran needing to prove it.

“If you have a presumptive condition, you don’t need to prove that your service caused the condition. You only need to meet the service requirements for the presumption,” states the VA’s website.

While each case is ultimately individualized, the PACT Act essentially widens the scope of disabilities compensated for by the VA and the locations that indicate toxic exposure.

For example, if you served on or after September 11, 2001 in Egypt and have medical ailments, the VA presumes you have been exposed to toxins from burn pits (an area devoted to burning trash on military sites) and will provide compensation.

This one example of the many combinations of location of military service and disability or ailment now compensated for under the PACT Act.

The following cancers are now considered presumptive conditions: brain, gastrointestinal, glioblastoma, head cancer of any kind, kidney, lymphatic, lymphoma, melanoma, neck cancer of any kind, pancreatic, reproductive, and respiratory.

The following illnesses are now considered presumptive by the VA: asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis, emphysema, granulomatous disease, interstitial lung disease, pleuritis, pulmonary fibrosis, and sarcoidosis.

The PACT Act has added two new presumptive conditions related to Agent Orange exposure; high blood pressure and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.

Five Agent Orange presumptive locations have also been added:

1. Any U.S. or Royal Thai military base in Thailand from January 9, 1962 through June 30, 1976.

2. Laos from December 1, 1965 through September 30, 1969.

3. Cambodia at Mimot or Krek, Kampong Cham Province from April 16, 1969 through April 30, 1969.

4. Guam or American Samoa or in the territorial waters off of Guam or American Samoa from January 9, 1962 through July 31, 1980.

5. Johnston Atoll or on a shop that called at Johnston Atoll from January 1, 1972 through September 30, 1977.

Three new radiation presumptive locations will be added:

1. Cleanup of Enewetak Atoll from January 1, 1977 through December 31, 1980.

2. Cleanup of the Air Force B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons off the coast of Palomares, Spain from January 17, 1966 through March 31, 1967.

3. Response to the fire onboard an Air Force B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons near Thule Air Force Base in Greenland from January 21, 1968 to September 25, 1968.

The PACT Act also allows the survivors of veterans to receive compensation if eligible in the form of a monthly payment, a one-time payment, or a survivor’s pension.

Hinds encourages anyone with these conditions or who served in these locations to file a claim regardless of their separation date (the date a veteran is discharged from service.)

When the PACT Act was passed, Congress also allowed the VA to hire over 10,000 employees to clear the backlog of claims created by the pandemic, according to Hinds.

This act does not only increase recognized presumptive conditions for veterans, but Congress allowed the VA office in Columbia to hire employees to clear the backlog of claims.

According to Hinds, over 10,000 individuals will be hired to begin chipping away at the hundreds of backlogged claims acquired due to the pandemic.

Hinds encourages veterans to file a claim even if they are unsure if they specifically qualify for the additions made under the PACT Act as a big part of this legislation is research.

The more claims submitted, the better the VA can serve veterans in the future as they will have a better understanding of the sort of needs they have.

Veterans or their families have until August 10, 2023 to file a claim under the PACT Act. If a claim is approved, the VA will backdate the benefits to the date the PACT Act was signed by President Biden - August 10, 2022.

Although the PACT Act has been signed, the VA still must wait for funding approval from Congress to begin establishing the needed systems to process the claims, according to their website. The VA is encouraging veterans to file a claim regardless.

The VA also encourages veterans who have already filed a claim to refile, stating on their website, “if we denied your disability claim in the past and we now consider your condition presumptive, you can submit a Supplemental Claim. We’ll review your case again.”

Let’s Talk: Veterans Supporting Veterans events are held monthly with the next meeting on February 16 held at 6 p.m. This session will discuss mental health and substance abuse.

Hinds finds these meetings held by Brooks to be beneficial for veterans and allow them to ask one-on-one questions in a casual setting rather than through the phone or online.

“This is very beneficial,” said Hinds. “Small settings, for me, are the optimal way to get the message out.”

To speak with Barnwell County Veterans Affairs Office or Joyce Nickens-Brooks, call (803) 541-1057.

For more information on the PACT Act or to file a claim, visit www.va.gov/pact or call the VA’s designated line at (800) 698-2411 for PACT Act related questions and claims.