Posted on Monday, June 9, 2025
|
by Outside Contributor
|
0 Comments
|
The joke goes something like this: “How many Veterans does it take to change a light bulb?”
Answer: “You don’t know, man! You weren’t there!”
For those of us who served, we get the joke. If you never wore the uniform or never deployed, you may not chuckle at those words.
But VA is taking that joke and turning it on its head by declaring some conditions – for those of us who were there – as presumptive.
What does it mean to have a presumptive condition? To get a VA disability rating, a Veteran’s disability must connect to military service. For many health conditions, Veterans need to prove that their service caused the condition. But for some conditions, VA automatically assumes (or “presumes”) that their military service caused the condition.
We call these “presumptive conditions.”
VA considers a condition presumptive when it is established by law or regulation. If a Veteran has a presumptive condition, they don’t need to prove that their service caused the condition. They only need to meet the service requirements for the presumption.
The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act is a historic law that helps VA provide benefits to millions of toxic-exposed Veterans and their survivors. The PACT Act adds more than 20 new presumptive conditions for burn pits and other toxic exposures, and it adds more presumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation. Details regarding the presumptive conditions and qualifying service locations/dates can be found at www.VA.gov/PACT.
Conditions outlined in the PACT Act have already taken a serious toll on many Veterans and their families. To ensure Veterans, their families, and survivors receive the benefits they have earned, VA is considering all conditions established in the PACT Act to be presumptive as of August 10, 2022.
Let me “Vetsplain” this to Veterans reading this column. File a PACT Act claim if you have any reason to believe you were exposed to toxics during your military service, even if you never deployed but were exposed to toxins or hazards while training or serving on active duty here at home – by working with chemicals, pesticides, lead, asbestos, certain paints, nuclear weapons, x-rays, and more.
All Veterans exposed to toxins and other hazards – at home or abroad – are eligible to enroll in VA care.
“The PACT Act is the single greatest expansion of benefits in VA history,” Michael Rohrbach, director of the Denver VA Regional Office – and U.S. Marine Corps Veteran – shared with me. “I encourage all my fellow Veterans and their survivors who believe they may be entitled to benefits, to not wait and apply right away.”
Veterans already enrolled in VA health care: You can ask about the toxic exposure screening at your next VA health care appointment. The screening only takes about ten minutes and typically occurs during regular health care appointments. During your toxic exposure screening, a member of your care team will have a conversation with you and ask if you believe you experienced toxic exposures during your military service. They may connect you to additional support and resources if you answer “yes.”
As an enrolled Veteran, you will receive the screening at least once every five years. If you answer that you are unsure if exposures occurred, your care team will offer the screening every year to ensure nothing has changed. Contact your local VA facility and request a screening if you do not have an upcoming appointment.
To learn more about the presumptive conditions and qualifying service locations/dates, visit www.VA.gov/PACT, or call 1-800-myVA411.
Thanks for allowing me to walk alongside you behind friendly lines.
Victory!
For more information about the PACT Act, visit www.VA.gov/PACT
Read the full article here