The Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday said it will add more cancers to its list of those presumed related to the Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans affected by burn pit exposure.
The expansion creates a presumptive service connection for veterans of the Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans with acute and chronic leukemias, multiple myelomas, myelodysplastic syndromes, myelofibrosis, urinary bladder, ureter and related genitourinary cancers.
“At VA, our goal is to provide every veteran with the care and benefits that they’ve earned for their service to our nation — and that’s what this is all about,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough in a statement. “Adding these presumptives lowers the burden of proof for Veterans to get the benefits they deserve for the conditions that followed them home from war. We encourage veterans with these conditions — and all veterans — to apply today for the benefits they deserve today.”
The step also lowers the burden of proof for the veterans, meaning they do not need to prove that their service caused their condition to receive benefits. Instead, VA automatically assumes service connection for the condition and provides benefits accordingly.
In a statement from the White House, President Joe Biden lauded the expansion, coupling it with his 2022 signing of the PACT Act, the most significant expansion of VA health care and benefits in decades.
“Veterans with these conditions, as well as survivors of veterans who passed away due to these conditions, can immediately apply for benefits," Biden said. "I encourage them to do so."
The expansion is also a part of an effort VA is undertaking to listen to veterans who served at the Karshi-Khanabad base in Afghanistan. According to VA, K2 veterans have higher claim and approval rates than any other cohort of veterans. Of the approximately 16,000 veterans known to have served at K2, 13,002 are currently enrolled in VA health care and more than 11,800 are service-connected for at least one condition.
The average K2 Veteran is service-connected for 14.6 conditions at a 70 percent disability rating, and the average service-connected K2 veteran receives an average of $30,000 a year in earned benefits.
The presumptions for urinary bladder, ureter, and related genitourinary cancers went into effect Jan. 2, 2025, and the presumptions for acute and chronic leukemias, multiple myelomas, and myelodysplastic syndromes, myelofibrosis will be effective Jan. 10.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.