Well over 100,000 Veterans exposed to herbicides while serving in
Vietnam and other areas will have an easier path to qualify for
disability pay under a proposed regulation published by the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) that adds three new illnesses to the list of
health problems found to be related to Agent Orange and other herbicide
exposures.
“We must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to
service, and we will”
“This is an important step forward for Vietnam Veterans suffering from
these three illnesses,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki. “These warriors deserve medical care and compensation for
health problems they have incurred.”
The regulation follows Shinseki’s October 2009 decision to add the three
illnesses to the current list of diseases for which service connection
for Vietnam Veterans is presumed. The illnesses are B cell leukemias,
such as hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson’s disease; and ischemic heart
disease.
The Secretary’s decision is based on the latest evidence of an
association with widely used herbicides such as Agent Orange during the
Vietnam War, as determined in an independent study by the Institute of
Medicine (IOM).
Even though this is a proposed rule, VA encourages Vietnam Veterans with
these three diseases to submit their applications for compensation now
so the Agency can begin development of their claims and so they can
receive benefits from the date of their applications once the rule
becomes final.
Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted over the next 30 days.
The final regulation will be published after consideration of all
comments received.
“We must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to
service, and we will,” Shinseki added. “Veterans who endure health
problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence.”
Over 80,000 of the Veterans will have their past claims reviewed and may
be eligible for retroactive payment, and all who are not currently
eligible for enrollment into the VA healthcare system will become
eligible.
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military used more than 19 million
gallons of herbicides for defoliation and crop destruction in the
Republic of Vietnam. 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.
Used in Vietnam to defoliate trees and remove concealment for the enemy,
Agent Orange and other herbicides left a legacy of suffering and
disability that continues to the present.
The new rule will bring the number of illnesses presumed to be
associated with herbicide exposure to 14 and significantly expand the
current leukemia definition to include a much broader range of leukemias
beyond chronic lymphocytic leukemia previously recognized by VA.
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 illnesses and their military service. This “presumption”
simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.
Other illnesses previously recognized under VA’s “presumption” rule as
being caused by exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War are:
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AL Amyloidosis,
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Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy,
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Chloracne or other Acneform Disease consistent with Chloracne,
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Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, (now being expanded)
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Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2),
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Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma,
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Porphyria Cutanea Tarda,
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Prostate Cancer,
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Respiratory Cancers (Cancer of the lung, bronchus, larynx, or
trachea), and
-
Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s
sarcoma, or Mesothelioma).
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