The Veterans Affairs Department is bracing for hundreds of thousands of claims related to toxic exposure illnesses.
Andrew Walker, 72, a retired Marine who served in Vietnam in 1969 and was exposed to Agent Orange, is among the millions of veterans suffering from toxic exposure illnesses now eligible to receive care and benefits, thanks to the PACT Act .
In January, the Veterans Affairs Department will start processing all benefits claims related to the PACT Act. The VA has already started processing claims from terminally ill veterans and has said it will expedite processing claims filed by veterans with cancer so they can receive care and benefits quickly. Because the law expands eligibility to an estimated 3.
"I was at the VA ten years ago when the backlog was at its peak and I'm happy to say that today we're in a better position to tackle these challenges," Jacobs said. "We take it as our primary responsibility to inform veterans from every demographic, every region in the country, and throughout our territories that this option, these new benefits are available to them," VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal said in recent testimony on Capitol Hill. Some veterans and veterans service organizations worry about the VA's capacity to handle the expected influx of claims.
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