JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
Latest Edition of the E-Afterburner
The September 2010 edition of the e-Afterburner has been posted on the Air Force retiree Web site at www.retirees.af.mil/afterburner. This edition is available in both .doc and .pdf formats for downloading and printing. For more retiree news and information, please visit www.retirees.af.mil.
New Regulation Provides Easier Path for Vietnam Veterans
Veterans exposed to herbicides while serving in Vietnam and other areas will have an easier path to access quality health care and qualify for disability compensation under a final regulation that was published Aug. 31in the Federal Register by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"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," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "It was the right decision, and the president and I are proud to finally provide this group of veterans the care and benefits they have long deserved."
The final regulation follows Secretary Shinseki's determination to expand the list of conditions for which service connection for Vietnam veterans is presumed. VA is adding Parkinson's disease and ischemic heart disease and expanding chronic lymphocytic leukemia to include all chronic B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia. In practical terms, veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a "presumed" illness do not have to prove an association between their medical problems and their military service.
Veterans who served in Vietnam anytime during the period beginning January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, are presumed to have been exposed to herbicides. Additionally, VA will review approximately 90,000 previously denied claims by Vietnam veterans for service connection for these conditions. All those awarded service-connection who are not currently eligible for enrollment into the VA healthcare system will become eligible. Air Force Retiree News Service
VA encourages Vietnam veterans with these three diseases to submit their applications for access to VA health care and compensation now so the agency can begin development of their claims. Individuals can go to a website at www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/AO/claimherbicide.htm to get an understanding of how to file a claim for presumptive conditions related to herbicide exposure.
Additional information about Agent Orange and VA's services for veterans exposed to the chemical is available at www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange. The regulation is available on the Office of the Federal Register website at www.ofr.gov/. (Courtesy of VA)
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