Veterans get more benefits with expansion of PACT Act
WASHINGTON (WRDW/WAGT) - It just got easier for veterans with certain illnesses to apply for life-changing benefits.
The list of illnesses linked to the PACT Act just got longer.
That means if you or a loved one has one of those illnesses, approval should be pretty much automatic.
Our I-TEAM took a closer look.
Some call the PACT Act the largest health care and benefit expansion in VA history.
It was signed into law in 2022, and named for Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, who was a combat medic who developed a rare disease and stage 4 cancer.
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His doctors linked it to prolonged exposure to toxic chemicals because of burn pits in Iraq and Kosovo.
Rare illnesses after exposure to toxins are nothing new for the VA.
For years, the VA has offered benefits to those exposed to Agent Orange.
The PACT Act helps those veterans but also includes Gulf War and post-9/11 era veterans and specifically addresses the burn pits.
The VA created a list of more than 20 conditions as presumptive conditions.
It means if you have one and were deployed to areas with these toxic chemicals or burn pits, the VA presumes your illness was caused by exposure there.
You don’t have to take any additional steps to try and prove it.
This month, the VA added to that list.
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They include chronic leukemias, myelomas and several cancers, including bladder cancer.
If you have any of those, Senator Jon Ossoff urges you to apply.
“Veterans are owed these. Veterans have earned these benefits through their service. It’s not a burden on the rest of the country. It’s the rest of the country’s obligation to be there for those who, when they were in uniform, were there for us,” said Ossoff.
Ossoff says if you need help applying, he has dedicated staff just for this reason.
“Our bipartisan PACT Act is the most significant strengthening of VA health care in decades, and it was long overdue,” said Ossoff. “I encourage any Georgia veteran with questions about the PACT Act or who need assistance with the VA to me and my office at ossoff.senate.gov.”
To apply for care or benefits today, veterans can visit online or call 1-800-MYVA411. More information on eligibility can also be found at the website.
The I-TEAM is also digging into wait times for PACT Act approvals.
Here’s a full list of illnesses linked to the PACT Act:
- Brain cancer
- Gastrointestinal cancer of any type
- Glioblastoma
- Head cancer of any type
- Kidney cancer
- Lymphoma of any type
- Melanoma
- Neck cancer of any type
- Asthma that was diagnosed after service
- Chronic bronchitis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Chronic rhinitis
- Chronic sinusitis
- Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis
- Emphysema
- Granulomatous disease
- Interstitial lung disease (ILD)
- Pleuritis
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Sarcoidosis
- Pancreatic cancer
- Reproductive cancer of any type
- Respiratory (breathing-related) cancer of any type
- Acute and chronic leukemias
- Multiple myelomas
- Myelodysplastic syndromes
- Myelofibrosis
- Urinary bladder, ureter and related genitourinary cancers
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