Deadline approaching for veterans to file PACT Act claims

by

Will Stribling

• Published on August 11, 2023 • Comments

President Joe Biden speaks at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Salt Lake City. Biden is speaking on the one-year anniversary of the PACT Act, which provides new benefits to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances.
(AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

The PACT Act, signed into law last year, expands disability benefits to veterans exposed to burn pits, agent orange and other toxic substances. Exposure to these substances has been linked to a variety of illnesses, including nearly a dozen different forms of cancer.

Will Stribling

Deadline approaching for veterans to file PACT Act claims

John Kirby is the National Security Council coordinator for Strategic Communications.

“Right now, there are some 340,000 veterans who are now receiving necessary medical care, because of the connection that the PACT Act makes between toxic agent exposure and the illnesses that they might have,” Kirby said. “And we know that there just has to be many more vets that also qualify.”

Wednesday was initially the deadline for veterans and survivors to file a claim in order to qualify for retroactive benefits, but that deadline has since been extended to Monday due to technical issues with the VA website.

Before the Pact Act was passed, veterans were required to prove that their illnesses were caused by their service. Now, a variety of conditions are presumed to be caused by these kinds of exposure.

Dr. Phyllis Hollenbeck, a physician at the VA Medical Center in Jackson, performs toxic exposure screenings.

“It's reassuring for them to have somebody say, ‘These symptoms are real and here's your diagnosis,’” Hollenbeck said. “Also, I tell them, ‘We can do things to get your life back.’ If you're a young veteran in your 40s, and you're short of breath, you want to be able to get your breath back so you can run after your kids. They’re very happy about that.”

Veterans who file by Monday will have their benefits backdated to August 10, 2022, the day President Joe Biden signed the Pact Act into law.

For information on how to file a claim, head to the VA’s Pact Act page.