SVA Conference attendees hear from American Legion and VFW experts on challenges and opportunities for today’s veterans seeking benefits and help after toxic exposure.
The landmark PACT Act of 2022 opened eligibility for VA health care and benefits to some 3.5 million veterans who previously did not qualify for federal support. So far since then, VA has approved more than 1 million claims from those who have suffered from toxic contamination while serving in specific areas at specific times as members of the U.S. Armed Forces, primarily in the post-9/11 era.
A panel discussion Saturday, Jan. 4, shared with attendees of the Student Veterans of America’s 17th National Conference some of the opportunities, lessons and threats that have emerged since the expansion of federal accountability to those who were exposed and sickened while serving in uniform.
Representing The American Legion in the discussion was Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Division Policy Analyst Andrew Petrie. He was joined by Veterans of Foreign Wars Assistant Director of Field Operations Cindy Noel, a longtime provider of free VA claims assistance. The discussion was moderated by Kristina Keenan, VFW’s incoming legislative director, who gave an overview of the PACT Act and described it as “a first step” in delivering federal accountability to toxic-exposed veterans.
She explained that the PACT Act aggregated multiple pieces of legislation that addressed “not only burn-pit exposures but radiation exposures from post-World War II, hypertension due to Agent Orange exposure, K2/Uzbekistan, uranium exposures … but the purpose of the PACT Act was to address mostly Iraq and Afghanistan burn-pit exposures. I say that because since the passage of the bill in 2022, our organizations have received a lot of feedback from veterans saying, ‘You left us out.’ The bill was not intended to cover every single toxic exposure out there, but to be a first step to addressing burn pit and particulate matter exposure in those areas and resolve some of the past exposures that had not yet been addressed. And thirdly, to create a framework for VA, going forward, to constantly be researching and addressing new toxic exposures.”
Marine Corps veteran Petrie, a former SVA chapter president and survivor of a life-threatening toxic-contamination cancer, spoke mainly on the health-care side of the PACT Act; dozens of diseases and adverse conditions became listed as presumably service-connected through the measure, including three new ones approved a week before the veterans gathered in Colorado Springs.
Following the session, Petrie said that work is now under way to identify and count “veterans who were left out of the PACT Act. I am thinking there may be a PACT Act 2.0 in the future, or something along those lines, maybe not something as big as the PACT Act, getting it in little pieces that are not so heavy in funding, not so scary for Congress.”
The PACT Act of 2022, he explained, “laid the groundwork and set us on a path in which we can continue to move forward and ensure that any potential future exposures – because we know that, unfortunately, there’s going to be more as time goes on – the process will become less arduous, with quicker turn-around, so there is not a 40-year wait, like Agent Orange, to be connected to a veteran’s service. So, they can potentially deal with those issues and be compensated for those disabilities they have endured, rather than at the end of their life.”
Noel, an Air Force veteran, has been a claims rep for over a decade and assisted with a claims clinic at the SVA’s conference. She offered the students critical advice about filing for VA benefits and appealing decisions, as well as a warning about so-called “claims sharks” in the private sector who charge veterans for services offered free by service officers trained by organizations like the VFW and The American Legion and accredited by VA.
Noel said aggressive private companies often operate illegally in the VA claims representation space, leaving many veterans with diminished benefits, debts and, worst of all, no results or accountability. “What they do is they promise servicemembers and veterans this large payout, and they can’t back it up,” Noel told the students. “It’s absurd. They are promising big, and they are not able to do anything. (Accredited VSOs) file claims for free. We’re accredited by VA. We actually review medical records. We actually know the law. We know what (veterans) can claim.”
Noel explained that veterans have to “do the legwork” to get their initial VA claims filed correctly to avoid delays and disappointment. That means the veteran must collect all possible evidence – medical and military records, even documentation about employment missed due to a condition and e-mail threads – in order to file efficiently and get an answer in a short period of time. “It’s so important to get it right the first time,” Noel said. “I don’t like to go back and forth with VA. I don’t think anybody wants to do that.”
And, she added, whenever a claim or appeal is denied, or a service-connected disability rating comes in lower than expected, VA lists the reasons and missing information that the veteran would need to get a decision upgraded or changed. Veterans need to read those explanations carefully and meet the conditions to make their cases for a change, she said.
Petrie added that indeed, “sometimes VA makes mistakes.” In those cases, veterans can then file a notice of disagreement or a supplemental claim. “Just because VA said something doesn’t always make it true, or in accordance with your evidence,” Petrie told the students. “Remember, you’re your own best advocate. VA, they’re doing their job, and they’re trying to their best job. But at the end of the day, who’s going to fight better for you? Nobody but yourself.”
Noel echoed that point, noting that VA decisions will come faster or more accurately, when a veteran works with an accredited service officer to ensure all the correct documentation accompanies a claim. Incomplete documentation is the primary reason for long delays or unsatisfactory results, she said. “Do your legwork. This is your claim.”
And while accredited service officers are working night and day against a hurricane of new claims since the PACT Act, Petrie, Noel and Keenan said free representation is available and more sensible than looking to the private sector and paying for it. If a VSO service officer has too heavy a docket, Petrie suggested county or city veterans division for assistance, or simply try another VSO who may have openings – all of which are better than jumping in with the claims sharks. “These claims sharks,” Petrie said, “need to be gone.”
- Veterans Benefits