PACT Act of 2022 makes provisions for approximately 23 new conditions

“We are forever in your debt. You deserve the very best,” John J. Pershing VA Medical Center Director Paul Hopkins promised veterans attending the PACT Act Town Hall ON Thursday at the Poplar Bluff American Legion.

A veteran himself, Hopkins said, “We at the medical center will never settle for giving you anything less.”

Hopkins explained, the VA team “has great information to share” about the law and what it means for those who served. The new law expands eligibility for VA health care for veterans with toxic exposure. It adds more than 20 new presumptive conditions for burn pits and other toxic exposures, as well as more presumptive exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation.

Calling the law “big,” Hopkins said, last year, the local medical center had over 700 veterans who applied for health care benefits, but were turned away.

“Because of the PACT Act, they can reapply,” he said. “Our business office has already started calling to get them to reapply for enrollment.”

Every veteran enrolled in VA health care will get a toxic exposure screening “and if you haven’t been screened yet, you can do so here tonight,” Hopkins said. “We want to make sure every one of those veterans and survivors, every one, gets the care and benefits you have earned. Simply, if you have a loved one, if you are a loved one who served in the Vietnam era, the Gulf War era, or post 9/11 like myself, you may be eligible for new or increased care and benefits as a result of this new law.”

Hopkins said, “I’ll echo something VA Secretary McDonough’s office says often. ‘Whenever someone signs up to serve our country in the military, our nation makes them a promise. It’s a promise that is as simple as it is fundamental. If you fight for us, we’ll fight for you. If you care for us, we’ll care for you. If you serve us, we’ll serve you when you come home.’ The thing is our nation as a whole makes that promise. It’s our mission at the VA to keep that promise to veterans, their families, their caregivers and their survivors, to keep that promise to you and the PACT Act will help us do exactly that.”

Corey Henry and Janine Pepper work of the Veterans Benefits Administration in St. Louis and were part of the panel.

Henry said the new law is the president’s top priority of addressing military aid for environmental exposures and keeps the nation’s promise to care for veterans who suffer from those conditions and their survivors. It ensures that generations of veterans who suffer from toxic exposure-related conditions and their survivors will get the benefits and care they earned and deserve.

“It’s our job to provide those veterans and their survivors benefits and care for those conditions,” Henry said. “This law will finally do that. ... The enactment of this bill is a historic moment for veterans. It will most importantly ensure that generations of veterans and their survivors will get the toxic exposure benefits that they’ve earned, bring hundreds of thousands of new veterans into VA care, and increase the health care and benefits of many more, which will result in better health outcomes across the board.”

Henry stressed, “Veterans who currently receive compensation for service-connected conditions will not have their previously awarded claims re-adjudicated simply because they file for new benefits under the PACT Act. It’s very important to know that we’re not going to take away any benefits. We’re just trying to provide new benefits, and if you were previously denied, please resubmit your claims.”

Other panelists were James Gebelhardt, the facility enrollment coordinator; nurse practitioner Patrick Kreulen; James Kevin Hart, who works in the business office and over eligibility; Sharon Sorrell, chief of mental health; and Shadad Hamidu Musah, minority veterans coordinator.

Gebelhardt said, the law expands and extends eligibility for VA health care and veterans with toxic exposures in Vietnam from the Vietnam era, Gulf War era and post 9/11 era. VA will improve the decision-making process for determining what medical conditions will be considered for presumptive status. Everyone enrolled will receive their initial toxic exposure screening and a follow-up screening every five years. Healthcare staff and claims processors will receive toxic exposure-related education training, and the act requires research studies on the mortality of veterans who served during these times.

Kreulen does compensation and pension exams for veterans and is one of the toxic exposure navigators.

Kreulen asked, “Are you all enrolled in VA health care? You need to be if you’re not enrolled in VA health care, you’re making a big mistake. You’ve already paid for it when you held your hand up and swore, you paid for the right to health care.

“The PACT Act of 2022 makes provisions for approximately 23 new conditions. Now there’s some misinformation going around that a big part of it applies to Vietnam veterans. There are only two things that actually apply to Vietnam veterans. In this, it’s the addition of hypertension as a presumptive service-connected condition for Agent Orange exposure.

“The veteran service officers work for the veterans, they don’t work for the VA,” Kruelen said. “They are your best advocates to use, so if you feel like you have a claim, by all means, file a claim.”

“Anytime you’re in a war zone, you’re gonna be exposed to stuff you don’t have a clue what’s there,” Kruelen said. “So please don’t hesitate to call us. We in compensation and patient like to approve veterans’ claims.”

For more information about times and places of service covered by the law go to VA.gov/pact.