VA Adds More Cancers to List of Presumed Service-Related Ailments

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday added several more cancers to its list of ailments presumed to be caused by in-service exposure to burn pits, lowering the burden of proof for ailing veterans to receive no-cost care and other benefits.

The illnesses added to the list include acute and chronic leukemias, multiple myelomas, myelodysplastic syndromes, myelofibrosis, urinary bladder, ureter and related genitourinary cancers.

Wednesday’s action builds on President Joe Biden’s “Unity Agenda” and specifically his signing the PACT Act into law in 2022.

The PACT Act, the largest expansion of veteran benefits in decades, made millions of former servicemen and women eligible for health care and benefits years earlier than mandated by existing law at the time.

The issue is profoundly personal to the president, who believes his son Beau, who had been an officer in the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, died from brain cancer caused by exposure to burn pits.

As their name implies, burn pits are areas on military bases where waste materials are disposed of through burning. Biden was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in 2013, and died two years later.

The PACT Act extended burn pit-related health care benefits to those who served in the Persian Gulf War on or after Aug. 2 1990, and Post-9/11 veterans who served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen or Uzbekistan and the airspace above these locations. 

This includes veterans who served at the Karshi-Khanabad base in Uzbekistan after Sept. 11, 2001.

In addition to adding to the list of recognized serious health issues stemming from burn-pit exposure, the VA’s action also lowers the burden of proof for these veterans, meaning that they do not need to prove that their service caused their condition to receive benefits for it. 

Instead, the VA will automatically assume service connection for the condition and provide benefits accordingly. 

The presumptions for urinary bladder, ureter, and related genitourinary cancers went into effect Jan. 2,, and the presumptions for acute and chronic leukemias, multiple myelomas, and myelodysplastic syndromes, myelofibrosis will be effective Jan. 10.

“As a nation, there is no more sacred obligation than properly preparing those we send into harm’s way and taking care of them and their families when they come home,” Biden said in a written statement. 

“This is especially critical when we know that many who return home experience long-term health problems related to their service,” he said. 

Biden noted that the department’s action builds upon other recent administration announcements expanding eligibility for GI benefits, lowering health care costs for veterans, and increasing resources to address homelessness among veterans.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as commander in chief and to support and care for our service members, veterans, and their families,” Biden said. “Veterans with these conditions, as well as survivors of veterans who passed away due to these conditions, can immediately apply for benefits. I encourage them to do so.”

Since the PACT Act was signed into law, VA has conducted the largest outreach campaign in its history. 

As a result of this effort, nearly 890,000 veterans have signed up for VA care since the bill was signed into law (a nearly 40% increase over the previous equivalent period) and veterans have submitted more than 4.8 million applications for VA benefits (an 42% increase over the previous equivalent period and an all-time record). 

To apply for benefits, veterans and survivors may visit  VA.gov or call 1-800-MYVA411.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue