Understanding VA Benefits covered by the PACT Act

Signed into law on August 10, 2022, the PACT Act established several regulations that expanded VA benefits, some of the main additions include:

1. For Persian Gulf War Veterans:
   • The definition of a “Persian Gulf War Veteran” was widened by expanding the locations covered under the definition of “Southwest Asia” service
   • Added several new presumptive disabilities caused by exposures to burn pits and other fine particulate matter (BPOT) during service in Southwest Asia
2. For Veterans exposed to herbicides and Agent Orange:
   • Expands the locations presumed to be associated with herbicide or Agent Orange exposure
   • Added two new disabilities presumed to be caused by herbicide or Agent Orange exposure
3. For all Veterans, regardless of period of service – Added regulations allowing for direct service-connection (SC) for non-presumptive disabilities related to Toxic Exposure Risk Activity (TERA)
4. Expanded locations associated with radiation exposure

PACT Act Benefits for Persian Gulf War Veterans

The PACT Act expanded the list of locations that are recognized by VA as falling within the definition of “Southwest Asia”.

The PACT Act added the following locations to what is covered under “Southwest Asia”:

• Afghanistan
• Israel
• Egypt
• Turkey
• Syria
• Jordan

Click here for a complete list of recognized Gulf War and Southwest Asia locations for Presumptive Conditions, including those recognized prior to the PACT Act.

Veterans with service in Southwest Asia (SWA) automatically qualify for:

• A presumption of exposure to burn pits and other fine particulate matter (BPOT) and presumptive service connection for the new presumptive disabilities caused by such exposure
• A concession of toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) based on exposure to burn pits and other fine particulate matter and consideration of direct service-connection based on toxic exposure for non-presumptive disabilities
• Presumptive service-connection for disabilities identified to be undiagnosed illnesses (UI) or medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illnesses (MUCMI)

Also See: What are the VA presumptive conditions for Gulf War Veterans?

PACT Act Benefits for Veterans Exposed to Herbicides or Agent Orange

This mostly covers Veterans of the Vietnam War Era and for a period just after the end of the Vietnam war. The PACT Act added:

• A presumption of service-connection for hypertension and  Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS), a precursor to multiple myeloma for Veterans presumed to be exposed to herbicides or Agent Orange
• Expanded the locations associated with a presumption of exposure to herbicides or Agent Orange exposure to include:
  • Thailand, if the Veteran served at any United States or Royal Thai Air Base from January 9, 1962 to June 30, 1976
  • Laos, from December 1, 1956 to September 30, 1969
  • Cambodia at Mimot or Krek, Kampong Cham Province, from April 16, 1969, to April 30, 1969
  • Guam or American Samoa, or in the territorial waters thereof, from January 9, 1962, to July 31, 1980
  • Johnston Atoll or on a ship that called at Johnston Atoll, from January 1, 1972, to September 30, 1977

PACT Act Benefits for Veterans Exposed to Toxic Exposure Risk Activity (TERA)

The PACT Act created extensive regulations allowing for the grant of service connection on a direct basis for non-presumptive disabilities found to be caused by toxic exposure risk activity (TERA).

This is one of the most extensive additions made by the PACT Act since it potentially covers any Veteran, regardless of when you served.

The regulations created by this law apply to any Veteran from any era who:

• claims or died from a non-presumptive disability, and
• participated in a TERA

Direct service connection based on toxic exposure (TERA)

The big difference here is that this allows Veteran who may not otherwise qualify for a presumption of service connection to establish service-connection on a direct basis if evidence establishes participation in a Toxic Exposure Risk Activity (TERA) and a medical nexus establishes a link between a current disability and the in-service participation in TERA.

This fundamentally changes how VA considers service-connection claims in many important ways:

Let’s take a claim for service-connection for chronic bronchitis. Under the law, chronic bronchitis is a presumptive disability for a Veteran with qualifying service in Southwest Asia. That means that if you have service in Southwest Asia and are diagnosed with chronic bronchitis, then VA presumes that your bronchitis was incurred during your service in Southwest Asia and they grant service-connection on a presumptive basis. Sounds simple and straight forward, right?

But, what if you don’t have qualifying service in Southwest Asia but you were exposed to burn pits somewhere else?

This part of the PACT Act (called 38 USC 1168) is where TERA comes in. It allows VA to make an independent determination if there is enough evidence to establish that you were exposed to burn pits somewhere else. If the evidence establishes such exposure or VA otherwise concedes such exposure, then VA may request a medical opinion to determine if your claimed disability is caused by the conceded exposure.

So, in short, even though you don’t qualify for any presumptions, the VA may potentially still grant service-connection on a direct basis if a medical opinion establishes a medical nexus between your current disability and the established exposure.

Also See: What is Toxic Exposure Risk Activity (TERA)?

PACT Act Benefits for Radiation Exposed Veterans

The PACT Act added a presumption of exposure to radiation for Veteran’s who served in the following locations:

1. Enewetak Atoll cleanup, from January 1, 1977 to December 31, 1980
2. Palomares, Spain, for onsite participation in the response effort following the collision of a United States Air Force B–52 bomber and refueling plane that caused the release of four thermonuclear weapons in the vicinity, from January 17, 1966 to March 31, 1967
3. Thule, Greenland, for onsite participation in the response effort following the on-board fire and crash of a United States Air Force B–52 bomber that caused the release of four thermonuclear weapons in the vicinity, from January 21, 1968 to September 25, 1968

How to File Claims under the PACT Act

You do not need to explicitly claim benefits under the PACT Act. Under the law, VA is required to consider all avenues of service-connection.

HOWEVER, in many instances, it is helpful if you can point the claims processor (the developer) and the VA rater in the right direction by specifying certain things.

Should I include a lay statement with my claim

A claim saying “I want to claim these disabilities under the PACT Act” isn’t useful. As described above, the PACT Act encompasses so many things. If something is obvious in your record, like being deployed in Iraq, then it’s a non-issue. But, sometimes, complete records aren’t always readily available. Don’t always assume that your personnel records or your DD-214 clearly spell out your deployments.

Take a moment to write a supporting statement in support of your claim. It doesn’t have to be a long letter, just provide some detail – where you were deployed, ships you were on, approximate dates, awards and decorations.

Try to be as specific as you can. For example, if you served in a Royal Thai Air Base, then you should explicitly state so in your claim and state that you are claiming your disabilities to be caused by herbicide exposure.

If you believe that your disabilities are related to exposure to burn pits during service in the Gulf War, say so.

If you believe you were exposed to certain chemicals in service, state so. Tell the VA what you believe you were exposed to, how and when. A statement saying “I was exposed to chemicals in service” isn’t helpful. A more specific statement saying “I was exposed to vehicle fumes and paint fumes in the shop while I was assigned in Fort Dix” will help the VA figure out what to look for in your records and what medical opinions to request for your claim.

Having a lay statement also helps VA in conceding certain things. If you claim you were exposed to dust and paint because of the work you did as a 12N MOS, that makes it easier for the VA rater to concede that exposure and say, yeah, I believe you because that statement is consistent with the duties of your specialty. If you just submit a claim without a statement, the VA may not concede anything unless your records explicitly show that you were exposed to dust and paint.

Evidence of a current disability

This is something that a lot of Veterans forget. If you want VA to request an examination and medical opinion for your claim, you must submit evidence of a current disability.

The best evidence of this is a diagnosis of a current disability from either your VA provider or an outside physician.

If you do not have that, you must provide some evidence of current symptoms, and why you believe they are caused by exposures in service. You must describe your current symptoms, e.g. pain, coughing, dry skin, shortness of breath and so on.

Under VA policy, as a lay person, you aren’t considered legallly competent to be able to say “I have asthma” or “I have dermatitis” unless you actually have a supporting medical record showing that a diagnosis was made by a medical professional.

However, VA policy dictates that you are able to describe symptoms capable of lay observation and that VA must take that into consideration even if you have no medical evidence of a current diagnosis just yet.

What Forms Do I Need to File a PACT Act Claim

If you are filing a disability claim for the first time, or for service connection for a disability that you have not claimed before, you must file your claim on a VA Form 21-526EZ.

If you are filing a claim for a disability that was previously denied service connection by the VA, you must file your claim on a supplemental claim on a VA Form 20-0995 and submit new and relevant evidence together with your claim.

If your previous claim was denied prior to the enactment of the PACT Act on August 10, 2022, then consideration of any new law created by the PACT Act, is considered new and relevant evidence that must be considered in the adjudication of your claim.

RELATED:

What is Toxic Exposure Risk Activity (TERA)?

What are the Presumptive Conditions for Gulf War Veterans?

Complete list of recognized Gulf War and Southwest Asia locations for Presumptive Conditions