VA Publishes Final Regulation to Aid Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange
Department
of Veterans Affairs
August 30,
2010
Veterans
exposed to herbicides while serving in Vietnam and other areas will have an
easier path to access quality health care and qualify for disability
compensation under a final regulation that will be published on August 31, 2010
in the
Federal Register
by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The new rule expands the list of health problems VA will presume to be
related to Agent Orange and other herbicide exposures to add two new conditions
and expand one existing category of conditions.
“Last
October, based on the requirements of the Agent Orange Act of 1991 and the
Institute of Medicine’s 2008 Update on Agent Orange, I determined that the
evidence provided was sufficient to award presumptions of service connection for
these three additional diseases,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki. “It was the right
decision, and the President and I are proud to finally provide this group of
Veterans the care and benefits they have long deserved.”
The final
regulation follows Shinseki’s determination to expand the list of conditions for
which service connection for Vietnam Veterans is presumed.
VA is adding Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease and expanding
chronic lymphocytic leukemia to include all chronic B cell leukemias, such as
hairy cell leukemia.
In
practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a
“presumed” illness don’t have to prove an association between their medical
problems and their military service.
By helping Veterans overcome evidentiary requirements that might
otherwise present significant challenges, this “presumption” simplifies and
speeds up the application process and ensure that Veterans receive the benefits
they deserve.
The
Secretary’s decision to add these presumptive is based on the latest evidence
provided in a 2008 independent study by the Institute of Medicine concerning
health problems caused by herbicides like Agent Orange.
Veterans
who served in Vietnam anytime during the period beginning January 9, 1962, and
ending on May 7, 1975, are presumed to have been exposed to herbicides.
More than
150,000 Veterans are expected to submit Agent Orange claims in the next 12 to 18
months, many of whom are potentially eligible for retroactive disability
payments based on past claims.
Additionally, VA will review approximately 90,000 previously denied claims by
Vietnam Veterans for service connection for these conditions.
All those awarded service-connection who are not currently eligible for
enrollment into the VA healthcare system will become eligible.
This
historic regulation is subject to provisions of the Congressional Review Act
that require a 60-day Congressional review period before implementation.
After the review period, VA can begin paying benefits for new claims and
may award benefits retroactively for earlier periods.
For new claims, VA may pay benefits retroactive to the effective date of
the regulation or to one year before the date VA receives the application,
whichever is later. For pending
claims and claims that were previously denied, VA may pay benefits retroactive
to the date it received the claim.
VA
encourages Vietnam Veterans with these three diseases to submit their
applications for access to VA health care and compensation now so the agency can
begin development of their claims.
Individuals
can go to a website at
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/A0/claimherbicide.htm
to get an understanding of how to file a claim for presumptive conditions
related to herbicide exposure, as well as what evidence is needed by VA to make
a decision about disability compensation or survivors benefits.
Additional
information about Agent Orange and VA’s services for Veterans exposed to the
chemical is available at
www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/benefits.asp.
The
regulation is available on the Office of Federal Register website at:
http://www.ofr.gov/.
Source:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1945