NAUS :: Member News

New Agent Orange Claims Payment Delay?
6/8/10 - An Oct 2009 decision by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, GEN, USA (Ret), added ischemic heart disease, Parkinson's disease, and B-cell leukemia to the department’s list of presumptive conditions for veterans exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam (see story below). VA planned to publish final regulations on the new presumptive diseases already, but that action is still under review. And by law, Congress has 60 days to examine Shinseki’s decision as well. Now the Senate appears to be taking a more cautious approach against what some perceive as excess spending on a potential new wave of Agent Orange claims, citing concerns that “based on modest scientific evidence, VA could be paying claims on diseases that a large proportion of any population will contract through normal aging." A provision in the Senate version of H.R. 4899, the FY 2010 war supplemental funding bill, would set aside funding for this expansion until the 60-day congressional review is complete. The House must still agree with the Senate’s changes to H.R. 4899.

New Agent Orange Conditions Rating Worksheets
5/13/10 - NAUS has obtained the VA’s preliminary rating worksheets for the new Agent Orange related presumptive conditions (see story below). NAUS recommends filing your claim as soon as possible – using these worksheets should help you gather information that will be used by the VA in processing your claim and making its determination as to disability compensation. Please pass this link/info on to others you know.

New Agent Orange Benefits
4/29/10 - NAUS has learned that the VA received more than 600 comments on its proposed new Agent Orange benefits regulations during the comment period which just ended. While the comments are required to be answered, VA does not expect this to delay the final rule. This new rule will expand availability of VA benefits to an estimated 186,00 additional veterans (and/or their survivors) who served in Vietnam and were exposed to Agent Orange. NAUS and the VA encourage those who believe they are eligible to apply NOW (read on for more info). Providing report(s) from private clinicians with the claim can help.

Three additional conditions - Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and B-cell leukemias - have been added to the list of illnesses presumed to have been caused by exposure to Agent Orange. The VA had already ruled the following conditions were “presumptive” regarding exposure to Agent Orange:Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy; Chloracne; Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia; Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2); Hodgkin’s Disease; Multiple Myeloma; Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma; Porphyria Cutanea Tarda; Prostate Cancer; Respiratory Cancers, and Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondro-sarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or Mesothelioma).

This means that veterans who suffer from one of these diseases are entitled to service-connected disability compensation from the VA as long as they stepped foot on land in Vietnam during active duty at any time between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975. It does not matter when the condition or disease first appeared. The VA will apparently accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for the new Agent Orange related conditions.

Death benefits (Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)) are also being expanded, and will be available to qualifying surviving family members of Vietnam veterans who have died, or who die in the future, from one of the 3 new presumptive diseases. Additionally, many Vietnam vets with retiree status may also be eligible for tax exempt Combat Related Special Compensation of up to $3,000 monthly, in the case of 100% agent Orange disability including retroactive back pay.

The VA will review its records and identify all Vietnam veterans and survivors of Vietnam veterans who filed a compensation claim in the past for one of the 3 new presumptive conditions. Each of these prior claims will be reevaluated under the VA’s new rules. An estimated 86,000 claims previously denied by the VA before 1985 will be revisited.

What You Should Do Now…
The VA will not begin to pay benefits for any of the new conditions until the new Agent Orange regulations are finalized, which NAUS expects in May. And the claims review process usually takes months before benefits are approved and start. But if you are a Vietnam veteran who suffers from one of these diseases or conditions, or a qualifying surviving family member of a Vietnam veteran who died from one of them, NAUS advises you to take action now.

If you are a Vietnam veteran who suffers (or a survivor of a veteran who died) from one of the 3 new presumptive conditions and you have not previously filed a VA disability or death compensation claim, you should file a VA claim for service-connected disability compensation (or DIC) for the disease immediately. Any VA benefits you are found eligible for will be paid retroactive to the date the VA first received your claim. This means that for every month you delay in filing your claim, you will not be entitled to VA compensation for that month.

If you already filed a VA disability or death compensation claim for one of these new presumptive conditions, you should file another claim with the VA for service-connected disability compensation (or DIC) for the disease/condition. This will help protect you from the possibility that the VA will interpret your previous claim as a pension claim instead of a compensation claim, or as being for a disease other than one of the three new diseases.

Both the Veterans Benefits Administration and Veterans Health Administration expect to be deluged by an increase in new claims. NAUS encourages its members and potential new members to contact the NAUS staff, assisted by NAUS board member Win Reither, Col, USAF (Ret), to stay tuned for updates, as well as progress reports of the VA claims handling.

VA Lists Navy Ships that Qualify for Presumptive Agent Orange Exposure
6/10 – The Department of Veterans Affairs Compensation and Pension Service has issued 2 lists of naval vessels it has verified conducted operations on the inland “brown water” rivers and delta areas of Vietnam. The lists also identify certain vessel types that operated primarily on the inland waterways. If a veteran’s service aboard one of these ships can be confirmed through military records during the time frames specified, then exposure to herbicide agents (e.g., Agent Orange) can be presumed. The lists include all vessels of Inshore Fire Support (IFS) Division 93; all vessels with the designation LST, LCVP, PCF (“Swift Boats”), and PBR during their entire Vietnam tour; all Coast Guard WPBs and WHECs during their Vietnam tours. Several other vessels and time frames of operations are included in these lists. See list issued 1/10 , and list issued 6/10.

NAUS Supports IT Training for Vets
NAUS is pleased to support the CompTIA Educational Foundation’s Creating Futures program. This program provides veterans and others with the opportunity to obtain employable skills to achieve rewarding careers in the Information Technology industry. Participants in the Creating Futures program can train towards four IT certifications at no cost and online. Click on the logo below for more information or to apply.

New Rules Make it Easier to Award Sole-source Contracts to Vets
7/7/10 - The Obama administration finalized new Federal Acquisition Regulation rules to clarify that a contracting officer can award a sole-source contract to a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB), even if there is more than one company that can perform the work. Effective August 2nd, contracting officers can make a sole-source award to a bidding SDVOSB, as long as no bids from another SDVOSB are expected.

VA Upgrades Pharmacy Technician Requirements
6/8/10 - Pharmacy technicians working for the Department of Veterans Affairs will now be required to receive certification from the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. The new regulations stem from formal recommendations from the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and parallel standards in the private sector.

VA Changes Online Application for Health Benefits
5/6/10 - The Department of Veterans Affairs has updated its online Form 10-10EZ, "Application for Health Benefits," a move called for in NAUS testimony by NAUS Veterans Benefits Advisor Mike Plumer at the VA Claims Summit just two months ago. The revised online application makes it easier and faster for veterans to apply for their health care benefits and allows veterans to save a copy of the completed form for their own records. Another significant enhancement allows veterans to save an incomplete application and return to it at any time without having to start over or complete the form in a single session as before. Other changes include fewer questions, simplified wording and clearer instructions. Plus, the form is now only 3 pages long (with as many pages of instructions)! Find the new form online here.

VA Long-range Health Care Costs For Iraq/ Afghanistan Veterans Unknown
4/9/10 - The Department of Veterans Affairs has no way of determining long-range health care costs for the veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a Congressional study on the wars' impact shows. Conducted by the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine, the study says costs for the nearly 2 million veterans of the two wars will expand over the next 30 years before tapering off. The VA's budget is almost $113 billion and has nearly doubled since 2003. "VA does not have the personnel, the funding or the mandate from Congress to produce broad forecasts," the study says, adding that "the human burdens of war extend far beyond the period of active conflict." Projections are crucial for anticipating how much money and how many services the government must set aside for helping Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, the report says. Gauging those needs is difficult because the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are "fundamentally different" than previous wars. For example:

Troops serve multiple combat deployments for cumulatively longer periods.
Body armor and improved battlefield care save lives, but many wounded servicemembers are left with complex psychological and physical problems.
The heavy use of National Guard and reservists means older troops serve more than in previous wars.
Troops are more likely to be married with children than in the past, complicating the impact of deployments. Research has shown that spouses and children can suffer emotional problems linked to deployments.
More women than ever serve in combat zones, and they tend to have more health issues than male troops. That will lead to higher costs.

History shows that health care costs keep rising after wars end, the study says. Disability compensation or pension payouts for veterans of World War I, World War II and the Korean conflict increased for 25 to 47 years after the end of hostilities.

Final Draft Gulf War Task Force Report Released
4/1/10 - VA Secretary Eric Shinseki announced that the Department’s Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force completed the final draft of a comprehensive report that will redefine how VA addresses the concerns of veterans who deployed during the Persian Gulf War in 1990-91. See below for more info on presumptive conditions linked to the Gulf War, and read the Task Force report here.

New Gulf War, Iraq/Afghanistan War Presumptive Conditions
3/19/10 – Based on a recommendation by the Gulf War Veterans Illness Task Force, the VA has proposed a regulation change that names nine conditions or diseases as “presumptive” due to service in the Persian Gulf War, and for the first time, the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Presumptive status means that veterans with such conditions only need show that they served in the conflicts/areas included for their condition to be deemed service-connected, usually resulting in access to additional VA health care or compensation benefits. "We recognize the frustrations that many Gulf War and Afghanistan veterans and their families experience on a daily basis as they look for answers to health questions and seek benefits from VA," Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki said in a statement. The nine conditions/ diseases are malaria, West Nile Virus, brucellosis, campylobacter jejuni, coxiella burnetii, mycobacterium tuberculosis, nontyphoid salmonella, shigella and visceral leishmaniasis.

NAUS Promises to be "Squeaky Wheel" on VA Claims in Testimony on the Hill
3/18/10 - Legislative Assistant/Veterans Benefits Advisor Mike Plumer said NAUS will continue to be a "squeaky wheel" concerning fixing the VA claims process in testimony at the VA Claims Summit before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Advance VA Health Care Funding Bill Signed
10/23/09 - President Barack Obama signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act in a ceremony at the White House attended by NAUS President Bill Matz (seen standing right behind the President in opening scenes in video below) and Legislative Director Rick Jones. The new law, a key goal of the National Association for Uniformed Services (NAUS), requires advance funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system.

2010 VA Compensation & Pension Rate Tables Online The 2010 rates for VA disability pay, DIC and others are the same as in 2009, as there was no COLA increase this year.