Veterans diagnosed with the cancers included in the PACT Act will have their benefits claims prioritized by the Department of Veteran Affairs.
The announcement was made on Nov. 7, National Cancer Awareness Day.
“We are working hard to get benefits to all Veterans who qualify under the PACT Act as soon as possible, and veterans living with cancer are at particular risk,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough in a statement.
The Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics or PACT Act expands opportunities for VA health care and benefits to the roughly 3.5 million veterans exposed to burn pits and airborne toxins during their service across all eras.
Signed into law on Aug. 10, it added presumptions of service connection for more than 20 new conditions, including various cancers. These presumptions help veterans get their earned benefits by reducing the evidence necessary for VA to find that a condition was caused by burn pits or other toxic exposures.
The presumptions also simplify the claims process by eliminating the need to establish a link between the veteran’s service and the claimed condition.
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VA will begin processing all PACT Act-related claims on Jan 1, 2023. In anticipation of a surge in new claims, VA is hiring at 56 regional offices and 39 other special processing and call centers within the United States and Puerto Rico.
Veterans have filed nearly 125,000 PACT Act-related claims since President Joe Biden signed the bill into law. Of those claims, nearly 14,000 are for cancers covered by the legislation.
For more information about PACT Act and how to file a claim, visit here or call 1-800-MyVA411 at any time.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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