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THE PACT ACT AND YOUR VA BENEFITS

The PACT Act is a new law that expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans
exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances.

The PACT Act adds to the list of health conditions that we assume (or “presume”)
are caused by exposure to these substances. This law helps us provide
generations of Veterans—and their survivors—with the care and benefits they’ve
earned and deserve.

This page will help answer your questions about what the PACT Act means for you
or your loved ones. You can also call us at 800-698-2411 (TTY: 711). And you can
file a claim for PACT Act-related disability compensation or apply for VA health
care now.


 * File a disability claim online
 * Apply for VA health care


WHAT’S THE PACT ACT AND HOW WILL IT AFFECT MY VA BENEFITS AND CARE?

The PACT Act is perhaps the largest health care and benefit expansion in VA
history. The full name of the law is The Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath
Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act.

The PACT Act will bring these changes:

 * Expands and extends eligibility for VA health care for Veterans with toxic
   exposures and Veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras
 * Adds 20+ more presumptive conditions for burn pits, Agent Orange, and other
   toxic exposures
 * Adds more presumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation
 * Requires VA to provide a toxic exposure screening to every Veteran enrolled
   in VA health care
 * Helps us improve research, staff education, and treatment related to toxic
   exposures

If you’re a Veteran or survivor, you can file claims now to apply for PACT
Act-related benefits.


WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE A PRESUMPTIVE CONDITION FOR TOXIC EXPOSURE?

To get a VA disability rating, your disability must connect to your military
service. For many health conditions, you need to prove that your service caused
your condition. 

But for some conditions, we automatically assume (or “presume”) that your
service caused your condition. We call these “presumptive conditions.”

We consider a condition presumptive when it's established by law or regulation.

If you have a presumptive condition, you don’t need to prove that your service
caused the condition. You only need to meet the service requirements for the
presumption.


GULF WAR ERA AND POST-9/11 VETERAN ELIGIBILITY

We’ve added more than 20 burn pit and other toxic exposure presumptive
conditions based on the PACT Act. This change expands benefits for Gulf War era
and post-9/11 Veterans.

These cancers are now presumptive:

 * Brain cancer
 * Gastrointestinal cancer of any type
 * Glioblastoma
 * Head cancer of any type
 * Kidney cancer
 * Lymphoma of any type
 * Melanoma
 * Neck cancer of any type
 * Pancreatic cancer
 * Reproductive cancer of any type
 * Respiratory (breathing-related) cancer of any type

Learn more about presumptive cancers related to burn pits

These illnesses are now presumptive:

 * Asthma that was diagnosed after service
 * Chronic bronchitis
 * Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
 * Chronic rhinitis
 * Chronic sinusitis
 * Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis
 * Emphysema
 * Granulomatous disease
 * Interstitial lung disease (ILD)
 * Pleuritis
 * Pulmonary fibrosis
 * Sarcoidosis

Learn about other hazardous materials presumptive conditions that may make you
eligible for care or benefits

If you served in any of these locations and time periods, we’ve determined that
you had exposure to burn pits or other toxins. We call this having a presumption
of exposure.

On or after September 11, 2001, in any of these locations:

 * Afghanistan
 * Djibouti
 * Egypt
 * Jordan
 * Lebanon
 * Syria
 * Uzbekistan
 * Yemen
 * The airspace above any of these locations

On or after August 2, 1990, in any of these locations:

 * Bahrain
 * Iraq
 * Kuwait
 * Oman
 * Qatar
 * Saudi Arabia
 * Somalia
 * The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
 * The airspace above any of these locations

Yes. The PACT Act adds new presumptive conditions. But there are also many other
health conditions that we presume are caused by exposure to toxic (or
hazardous) materials. If you have any of these other conditions, you may be
eligible for health care or benefits.

Learn about other presumptive conditions based on exposure to hazardous
materials

We’re extending and expanding VA health care eligibility based on the PACT Act.
We encourage you to apply, no matter your separation date. Your eligibility
depends on your service history and other factors.

If you meet the requirements listed here, you can get free VA health care for
any condition related to your service for up to 10 years from the date of your
most recent discharge or separation. You can also enroll at any time during this
period and get any care you need, but you may owe a copay for some care.



At least one of these must be true of your active-duty service:

 * You served in a theater of combat operations during a period of war after the
   Persian Gulf War, or
 * You served in combat against a hostile force during a period of hostilities
   after November 11, 1998

And this must be true for you:

 * You were discharged or released within 10 years

We encourage you to enroll now so we can provide any care you may need now or in
the future. Enrollment is free.

We’ll share information about more opportunities to enroll in VA health care
under the PACT Act soon.

Other factors, such as your financial circumstances or having a
service-connected disability, may also make you eligible for care. There are
many paths to VA health care eligibility. Applying is the best way to find out
if you’re eligible. 


VIETNAM ERA VETERAN ELIGIBILITY

Based on the PACT Act, we’ve added 2 new Agent Orange presumptive conditions:

 * High blood pressure (also called hypertension)
 * Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)

You may also be eligible for disability compensation based on other Agent Orange
presumptive conditions. These conditions include certain cancers, type 2
diabetes, and other illnesses.

Get a list of other Agent Orange presumptive conditions

If you think you’re eligible for VA health care and benefits, we encourage you
to apply now.

Yes. The PACT Act adds new presumptive conditions. But there are also many other
health conditions that we presume are caused by exposure to toxic (or
hazardous) materials. If you have any of these other conditions, you may be
eligible for health care or benefits.

Learn about other presumptive conditions based on exposure to hazardous
materials

We’ve added these 5 new locations to the list of presumptive locations:

 * Any U.S. or Royal Thai military base in Thailand from January 9, 1962,
   through June 30, 1976 
 * Laos from December 1, 1965, through September 30, 1969
 * Cambodia at Mimot or Krek, Kampong Cham Province from April 16, 1969, through
   April 30, 1969
 * Guam or American Samoa or in the territorial waters off of Guam or American
   Samoa from January 9, 1962, through July 31, 1980
 * Johnston Atoll or on a ship that called at Johnston Atoll from January 1,
   1972, through September 30, 1977

If you served on active duty in any of these locations, we’ll automatically
assume (or “presume”) that you had exposure to Agent Orange.

Note: This isn’t the full list of presumptive locations for Agent Orange
exposure. Review eligibility requirements for more presumptive locations.

Review eligibility requirements for Agent Orange presumptive exposure

We’ve added these 3 new response efforts to the list of presumptive locations:

 * Cleanup of Enewetak Atoll, from January 1, 1977, through December 31, 1980
 * Cleanup of the Air Force B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons off the coast
   of Palomares, Spain, from January 17, 1966, through March 31, 1967
 * Response to the fire onboard an Air Force B-52 bomber carrying nuclear
   weapons near Thule Air Force Base in Greenland from January 21, 1968, to
   September 25, 1968

If you took part in any of these efforts, we’ll automatically assume (or
“presume”) that you had exposure to radiation.

There are also other locations where we presume that you had exposure to
radiation. If you served in any of these locations, you may be eligible for
health care or benefits.

Get a list of other radiation presumptive locations

If you served on active duty in any of these locations during these time
periods, you’re now eligible to apply for VA health care:

 * The Republic of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975
 * Thailand at any U.S. or Royal Thai base between January 9, 1962, and June 30,
   1976 
 * Laos between December 1, 1965, and September 30, 1969
 * Certain provinces in Cambodia between April 16, 1969, and April 30, 1969
 * Guam or American Samoa (or their territorial waters) between January 9, 1962,
   and July 31, 1980
 * Johnston Atoll (or on a ship that called at Johnston Atoll) between January
   1, 1972, and September 30, 1977


GETTING BENEFITS

If you haven’t filed a claim yet for the presumptive condition, you can file a
new claim online now. You can also file by mail, in person, or with the help of
a trained professional.

File for VA disability compensation online

Learn more about how to file a disability compensation claim

If we denied your disability claim in the past and we now consider your
condition presumptive, you can submit a Supplemental Claim. We’ll review your
case again.

Find out how to file a Supplemental Claim

We encourage you to file a Supplemental Claim. When we receive a Supplemental
Claim, we’ll review the claim again.

Find out how to file a Supplemental Claim

Note: If we denied your claim in the past and we think you may be eligible now,
we’ll try to contact you. But you don’t need to wait for us to contact you
before you file a Supplemental Claim.

You don’t need to do anything. If we added your condition after you filed your
claim, we’ll still consider it presumptive. We’ll send you a decision notice
when we complete our review.

Yes. The PACT Act is here to stay, and Veterans and survivors can file for
benefits anytime. The sooner you file, the sooner you can start getting your
earned benefits.

So don’t wait. File your claim—or quickly submit your intent to file—today.

File a disability claim online

Learn how to submit your intent to file

We will process your claim with the utmost urgency to get you the benefits you
deserve as quickly as possible. In the first year of the PACT Act, we completed
458,659 PACT Act-related claims—delivering more than $1.85 billion in earned
benefits to Veterans and their survivors.

The time it takes to review your claim depends on these factors:

 * The type of claim you filed
 * How many injuries or disabilities you claimed and how complex they are
 * How long it takes us to collect the evidence needed to decide your claim

We regularly update the average number of days it’s taking us to make a decision
on disability-related claims on our website.

Learn about the claims process and what happens after you file your claim

You can also check your claim status on VA.gov or through our VA: Health and
Benefits mobile app.

Check your claim status

Learn more about the VA: Health and Benefits mobile app on our mobile app
website


TOXIC EXPOSURE SCREENINGS

Toxic exposure screenings are available at VA health facilities across the
country.

Every Veteran enrolled in VA health care will receive an initial screening and a
follow-up screening at least once every 5 years. Veterans who are not enrolled
and who meet eligibility requirements will have an opportunity to enroll and
receive the screening.  

The screening will ask you if you think you were exposed to any of these hazards
while serving:

 * Open burn pits and other airborne hazards
 * Gulf War-related exposures
 * Agent Orange
 * Radiation
 * Camp Lejeune contaminated water exposure
 * Other exposures

We’ll then give you information about any benefits, registry exams, and clinical
resources you may need.

Ask about the screening at your next VA health care appointment. If you don’t
have an upcoming appointment, or if you want to get the screening sooner,
contact your local VA health facility. Ask to get screened by the toxic exposure
screening navigator.


INFORMATION FOR SURVIVORS

Yes. If you’re a surviving family member of a Veteran, you may be eligible for
these benefits:

 * A monthly VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (VA DIC) payment. You may
   qualify if you’re the surviving spouse, dependent child, or parent of
   a Veteran who died from a service-connected disability. 
   
   Learn how to apply for VA DIC
 * A one-time accrued benefits payment. You may qualify if you’re the surviving
   spouse, dependent child, or dependent parent of a Veteran who we owed unpaid
   benefits at the time of their death.
   
   Learn about evidence needed for accrued benefits
 * A Survivors Pension. You may qualify if you’re the surviving spouse or child
   of a Veteran with wartime service.
   
   Learn how to apply for a Survivors Pension

You can submit a new application for VA dependency and indemnity compensation
(VA DIC). 

Learn about VA DIC and how to apply

Note: If we denied your claim in the past and we think you may be eligible now,
we’ll try to contact you. We may be able to reevaluate your claim. But you don’t
need to wait for us to contact you before you reapply.

You may be eligible for these VA benefits as the surviving family member of a
Veteran:

 * Burial benefits and memorial items such as a gravesite in a VA national
   cemetery or a free headstone, marker, or medallion.
 * A burial allowance to help with the Veteran’s burial and funeral costs. You
   may qualify if you’re the Veteran’s surviving spouse, partner, child, or
   parent.
 * Education and training. You may qualify if you’re the survivor of a Veteran
   who died in the line of duty or as a result of service-connected
   disabilities.
 * Health care through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department
   of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA). You may qualify if you’re the survivor or
   dependent of a Veteran with a service-connected disability.
 * A VA-backed home loan. You may qualify if you’re the surviving spouse of
   a Veteran.

Learn more about family member benefits

 * File a disability claim online
 * Apply for VA health care

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RELATED INFORMATION

 * The VA PACT Act Performance Dashboard website
   
   

 * Camp Lejeune water contamination health issues
   
   

 * Exposure to hazardous chemicals and materials
   
   

 * Environmental health registry evaluation for Veterans (VA public health
   website)
   
   

 * VA benefits for spouses, dependents, survivors, and family caregivers
   
   


VA BENEFITS

 * Health care
   
   Apply for VA health care, find out how to access services, and manage your
   health and benefits online.

 * Disability
   
   File a claim for disability compensation for conditions related to your
   military service, and manage your benefits over time.


NEED MORE HELP?

MyVA411 main information line: 800-698-2411

Last updated: December 14, 2023

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