The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced that it is making more veterans with toxic exposure eligible for health care now instead of phasing in coverage over the next eight years.
The change took effect last month. In announcing it, the VA said all veterans "who served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Global War on Terror, or any other combat zone after 9/11 will be eligible to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits."
Veterans who did not deploy but were exposed to toxins during training or on active duty are also eligible.
The VA health system in Central Florida says it is undertaking an all-out effort to get those veterans screened.
About 200 signed up for a recent PACT Act event at the Lake Baldwin VA Clinic - the sixth such event in the region since the PACT Act was approved in 2022.
Dozens of VA staffers were there to help with everything from benefits to screening for toxic exposure. A spokeswoman said some veterans showed up as walk-ins.
Dennis LaCour of Clermont, a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran, said he remembers being doused with Agent Orange from a plane flying over like a crop duster. His hands were shaking as he talked about seeing a neurologist after another doctor said he likely has Parkinson's disease.
LaCour said he receives VA benefits, but his Agent Orange exposure wasn't addressed - until now.
"I'll tell you," he said, "it makes me want to cry because I know some of my friends who died from this. And they were a lot, lot younger."
Timothy Cooke is CEO of the Orlando VA Healthcare System, where he said more than 100,000 vets have been screened locally and 46% of those have been found eligible under the PACT Act.
Cooke said he urges veterans not to wait.
"And let's add as many people to our health care system as are eligible and capable of coming to the VA," he said. "And that will give them the best health care that they can get. Because that means that now we've identified something that could possibly impact their health long term today, versus waiting until something happens."
President Joe Biden signed the act into law in 2022. It added 23 presumptive conditions including various respiratory issues and cancers that the VA will automatically assume are service-related instead of veterans having to prove it to get disability benefits.
Veterans still need to meet the service requirements for each condition. These conditions could be connected to toxic exposures including Agent Orange, a chemical used during the Vietnam War, and burn pits, where the military destroyed waste in Iraq and Afghanistan, among others.
Under the law, VA health workers can conduct toxic exposure screenings for every veteran enrolled in the system
In addition to the initial screening, the law entitles vets to follow-up assessments at least once every five years. The VA is now attempting to sign up veterans who are not enrolled in VA health care so they can be screened.
Veterans or their survivors looking for information on how to get screened and to see whether they're eligible for VA health care -- even without disability-related benefits -- should visit VA.gov.
Information from Health News Florida's Stephanie Colombini was used in this report.
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