On June 14, 2024, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the addition of three (3) new cancer types to its’ existing list of presumed service-connected disabilities. This was accomplished through a sub-regulatory policy letter published in the Federal Register.
These disabilities were caused due to military environmental exposure covered under the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Promises to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022.
The three (3) new cancer types are: male breast cancer; urethral cancer, and cancer of the paraurethral glands. These presumptives are for military personnel who served during the Gulf War and the post-9/11 conflicts.
Presumptive service connection means that the VA automatically assumes service connection for the three (3) types of cancer and now provides medical benefits to eligible veterans, who have submitted claims with evidence of a diagnosis.
The new VA action includes veterans that were deployed to Afghanistan; Djibouti; Egypt; Iraq; Jordan; Lebanon; Somalia; Syria; Uzbekistan; Yemen; and the entire Southwest Asia theater of operations.
Any veteran who currently has or previously had one of the above listed cancers at any time during military service (or after separation) may be entitled to disability compensation benefits dated back to Aug. 10, 2022, the date the PACT Act was enacted into law.
“We are working with urgency to deliver on the promise of the PACT Act to provide health care and benefits to as many toxic-exposed veterans as possible – we’re leaning in wherever we can,” explained VA Secretary Denis McDonough.
“The VA is working with one goal in mind: getting today and tomorrow’s veterans and their families,” stated VA Secretary McDonough, “the benefits they deserve as fast as possible.”
The VA will review all claims from impacted veterans and survivors who previously filed and were denied for these three (3) conditions on or after August 10, 2022, to determine if benefits can now be granted.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), 2,300 cases of male breast cancer were diagnosed across the U.S. in 2017, while urethral cancers account for 1% of all urological cancer diagnoses. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) describes paraurethral gland cancers as “extremely rare.”
Since 2021, the VA has managed an internal effort to determine which illnesses should be presumed to be related to military service. With the new process, VA staff review available science and data, as well as veterans’ claims data, to establish new presumptive conditions.
Previously, the VA contracted outside panels, usually through the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, to study available research and scientific literature to decide whether a condition was linked to military service.
If a condition is not considered service-connected by the VA, veterans may file a disability claim for it along with documentation supporting their case. The VA decides those on a case-by-case basis.
The additions follow similar moves in 2021 and 2022, when the VA added three common conditions — asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis — nine respiratory cancers to the list of PACT Act-related conditions.
Also, several veterans’ advocates are pushing to have several blood cancers added to the list of conditions considered to be service-connected under the PACT Act of 2022. This would make some Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans eligible for expedited health care and benefits.
If a condition is not considered service-connected, veterans may file a disability claim for it along with documentation supporting their case. The VA decides those on a case-by-case basis.
Veterans enrolled in VA health care can obtain cancer screening and treatment at the VA, which recently announced the expansion of cancer care services closer to where veterans are located.
According to VA statistics, the VA has approved more than 1 million PACT Act disability claims and awarded over $5.7 billion in compensation to veterans or their survivors.
There is no charge or fee to file for a claim with the VA. Veterans and survivors can apply or learn more about the PACT Act by calling 1-800-MYVA411 or visiting VA.gov/PACT
My Opinion: In 2021, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) made a significant determination to implement a new procedure which was an internal effort to determine which veterans’ illnesses should be presumed to be related to military service.
If we were utilizing the old procedure, we would have other medical astute agencies studying, investigating and finally, months or years later, issuing a report that veteran illnesses were related to their military service.
The VA finally took action and the veterans are now the beneficiaries of the VA’s action for these three (3) forms of cancer. Unfortunately, it is hard to calculate how many veterans succumbed to their illnesses before the VA acknowledged they would have been eligible for medical services and compensation.
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a retired 32-year Army veteran who served from 1967 to 1999. He is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio’s Hospital Chairman and also Adjutant of DAV Chapter #63 (Clermont County). He can be contacted at: plahovinsak@msn.com.