VA working to help Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange
Reno Gazette Journal, 8/31/10 - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is working to ensure Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange have an easier path to disability benefits for illnesses caused by the exposure.
Vietnam veterans suffering from Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and all chronic B cell leukemia will no longer have to demonstrate a connection between their conditions and their military service.
Those conditions have been added to the list of known health problems caused by Agent Orange, an herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in southeast Asia between 1962 and 1975.
“Last October, based on the requirements of the Agent Orange Act of 1991 and the Institute of Medicine’s 2008 Update on Agent Orange, I determined that the evidence provided was sufficient to award presumptions of service connection for these three additional diseases,“ Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said.
The new regulation will be published in the Federal Register by the Department of Veterans Affairs today and will then face a 60-day congressional review period before it can go into effect.
“It’s a much-needed support for our Vietnam veterans,” said Joan Buckler, patient benefits supervisor for the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System.
Army veteran Hamford Schroeder of Reno said he has encountered numerous health issues in the years since his service with the 25th Infantry Division, which spent time in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
“I’m the only one in my family that had a heart attack, the only one that has diabetes,” said Schroeder, 63.
He is on partial disability and isn’t sure if the new regulation will help him or not.
“I’m thankful for getting what I’ve got,” he said.
The VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System said veterans who served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1975 are eligible to sign up for the Agent Orange Registry Health Examination.
“If they were on the ground in country, they’re eligible,” Buckler said.
The new regulation is designed to speed up the claims process and speed up the distribution of benefits.
...
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VA working to help Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange
Reno Gazette Journal, 8/31/10 - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is working to ensure Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange have an easier path to disability benefits for illnesses caused by the exposure.
Vietnam veterans suffering from Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and all chronic B cell leukemia will no longer have to demonstrate a connection between their conditions and their military service.
Those conditions have been added to the list of known health problems caused by Agent Orange, an herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in southeast Asia between 1962 and 1975.
“Last October, based on the requirements of the Agent Orange Act of 1991 and the Institute of Medicine’s 2008 Update on Agent Orange, I determined that the evidence provided was sufficient to award presumptions of service connection for these three additional diseases,“ Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said.
The new regulation will be published in the Federal Register by the Department of Veterans Affairs today and will then face a 60-day congressional review period before it can go into effect.
“It’s a much-needed support for our Vietnam veterans,” said Joan Buckler, patient benefits supervisor for the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System.
Army veteran Hamford Schroeder of Reno said he has encountered numerous health issues in the years since his service with the 25th Infantry Division, which spent time in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
“I’m the only one in my family that had a heart attack, the only one that has diabetes,” said Schroeder, 63.
He is on partial disability and isn’t sure if the new regulation will help him or not.
“I’m thankful for getting what I’ve got,” he said.
The VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System said veterans who served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1975 are eligible to sign up for the Agent Orange Registry Health Examination.
“If they were on the ground in country, they’re eligible,” Buckler said.
The new regulation is designed to speed up the claims process and speed up the distribution of benefits.
...
Read the whole article
