John Plahovinsak
Recent action taken by the House of Representatives and the Senate will be strengthening the existing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Spina Bifida Health Care Benefits Program. Now, the President must sign the submitted bipartisan legislation and it will be enacted into law.
Children of Vietnam War veterans, who were exposed to Agent Orange, have a higher risk of contracting spina bifida than other children. It is estimated that between 1,000 and 1,500 Vietnam veteran children are afflicted and suffering from this disease.
In 2008, the VA’s Spina Bifida Health Care Benefits Program was created to assist these children. However, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) in their 2021 Report concluded that the Spina Bifida Program is not delivering the benefits appropriately and failing to provide proper oversight of the Program.
According to the OIG Evaluation, this failure to perform the successful implementation of this Program has led to wasting taxpayers’ dollars. When the Program was established in 2008, it was a part of the Office of Community Care (OCC), located in Denver, Colorado.
According to the VA’s OIG, the implementation challenges of getting children enrolled into the Program; the communication on what benefits are authorized; and how the services and care can be contracted and paid for; became the responsibility of the Vietnam veterans’ families and children to do it for themselves.
The 2021 VA’s OIG Report indicated serious problems with the existing administration of the Program, including payments to deceased beneficiaries and significant numbers of participants not receiving all the benefits for which they are eligible.
For example, of nearly 1,000 beneficiaries only seven (7) had used case management or a social worker service during 2019. Seventy-three (73) seriously disabled beneficiaries had never used any of their benefits.
The lack of social workers and case management services, according to the OIG Report, is particularly worrisome because this condition often leaves beneficiaries without the capacity to arrange their own care.
To address the deficiencies noted in the VA’s OIG Report, Senator Maggie Hassan and Senator Mike Braun introduced on January 26, 2023, Senate Bill 112, A Bill to Amend Title 38, United States Code, to Strengthen Benefits for Children of Vietnam Veterans Born with Spina Bifida, and for Other Purposes.
This Senate Bill passed the Senate by Unanimous Consent on July 13, 2023. Representative James Baird introduced H.R. 3888, an identical companion bill to the Senate version, on June 7, 2023. The House version passed unanimously on September 19, 2023, and was subsequently forwarded to the President to sign and enact into law.
The legislation, when signed by the President, requires the VA to provide health care, job training, and monetary benefits for the duration of the child’s life.
The new pending law covers a child, regardless of age or marital status, who has spina bifida and is the natural child of a Vietnam veteran or a veteran of specified service in Korea or Thailand who was conceived after the date on which the veteran entered service in Vietnam, Korea, or Thailand.
Also covered in the pending legislation is the child who has certain birth defects and is the natural child of a woman Vietnam veteran.
The pending law requires the VA to establish an advisory council on health care and benefits for covered children. The VA must establish health care and coordination teams for covered children.
At least every 180 days, the teams must conduct outreach to ensure the continued care of the children and assist with any necessary changes in care.
In addition, the VA must report to Congress a list of conditions that will trigger outreach to covered children and must attempt to contact such children as soon as practicable and assist with any necessary changes in care.
Finally, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) must enter into a memorandum of understanding to better assist covered children suffering from spina bifida.
“Vietnam veterans made significant sacrifices for our country, and it is up to us to ensure that their children who were born with spina bifida receive the care that they need,” noted Senator Hassan. “I am glad to see this bipartisan bill head to President Biden’s desk so that we can help provide more veterans and their families with the benefits that they have earned and deserve.”
“This legislation will ensure that the children of Vietnam veterans born with spina bifida due to a parent’s exposure to Agent Orange will get the care and benefits they deserve for the rest of their lives,” concluded Senator Mike Braun, the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 112.
My Opinion: The VA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) should be commended for their 2021 Report which found the various deficiencies of the existing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Spina Bifida Health Care Benefits Program.
This OIG Report spurred the actions of the House and Senate in a bipartisan manner. The Vietnam veterans needed this legislation for their children and Congress delivered. The benefits of the Program will last for the life of the child and not negatively impacted by the death of their parent.
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a 32-year retired Army Veteran who served from 1967 to 1999. He is serving on the Board of Directors for Chapter #649 of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA). He can be contacted at: plahovinsak@msn.com.