{"id":72493,"date":"2022-12-12T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/12\/12\/va-starting-work-on-terminally-ill-vets-pact-act-claims-immediately\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:00:25","slug":"va-starting-work-on-terminally-ill-vets-pact-act-claims-immediately","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/12\/12\/va-starting-work-on-terminally-ill-vets-pact-act-claims-immediately\/","title":{"rendered":"VA starting work on terminally ill vets\u2019 PACT Act claims immediately"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/12\/09\/va-plans-week-of-action-to-highlight-new-toxic-exposure-benefits\/\" target=\"_blank\">Veterans Affairs staffers<\/a> immediately will begin processing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/burn-pits\/2022\/09\/01\/vets-can-apply-for-all-pact-act-benefits-now-after-va-speeds-up-law\/\" target=\"_blank\">new toxic exposure claims<\/a> for veterans facing terminal illnesses, three weeks before other cases already pending in the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials said the move will ensure that veterans facing life-threatening conditions will \u201creceive their earned benefits and health care on the earliest possible date.\u201d About 2,500 veterans are expected to be affected by the move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese veterans have stepped up to serve our country in the times when we needed them most, and now it\u2019s our job to step up for them,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/11\/14\/va-secretary-makes-promise-we-will-be-vets-best-advocates\/\" target=\"_blank\">VA Secretary Denis McDonough<\/a> in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s the right thing to do to get these heroes the world-class healthcare and benefits they\u2019ve earned as soon as possible, and that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2022\/12\/09\/va-plans-week-of-action-to-highlight-new-toxic-exposure-benefits\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5312.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA plans \u2018week of action\u2019 to highlight new toxic exposure benefits<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The move builds on months of efforts to publicize health care and disability payouts available through the PACT Act.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/burn-pits\/2022\/08\/04\/now-that-the-pact-act-passed-how-soon-will-veterans-see-their-benefits\/\" target=\"_blank\">Since the summer<\/a>, more than 176,000 veterans have applied for VA benefits under the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (better known as the PACT Act).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legislation provides for presumptive benefit status for 12 types of cancer and 12 other respiratory illnesses linked to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/burn-pits\/2022\/03\/29\/what-are-military-burn-pits-and-why-are-veterans-worried-about-them\/\" target=\"_blank\">burn pit exposure<\/a> in the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq; hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) for veterans who served in Vietnam; and radiation-related illnesses for veterans who served in several new locations in the 1960s and early 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Presumptive status for service-connected illnesses cuts down on the paperwork veterans are required to file to receive monthly disability benefits, which can total several thousand dollars a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Payout of those benefits originally was scheduled to be phased in over the next few years, but administration officials over the summer announced plans to start processing the PACT Act claims on Jan. 1, 2023, in an effort to get veterans care and financial support quicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest announcement moves that timeline up even further for some of the most vulnerable veterans. Individuals who reported facing life-threatening conditions will have their files worked immediately, and some could see disability payouts start within a few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Department officials said after Jan. 1, when all cases begin to be processed, staff will continue claims involving terminally ill veterans because of the time issues involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, the department will prioritize \u201cclaims filed by veterans with cancer, veterans experiencing homelessness, veterans older than 85 years old, veterans experiencing financial hardship, and Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA leaders have warned that sorting through the tens of thousands of new claims will take time, and some veterans may not see payouts for several months or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2022\/12\/06\/va-urges-veterans-to-get-covid-boosters-before-holiday-season\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q75-3-4.jpg-4.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA, HHS urge veterans to get COVID shots before holiday season<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">More than 23,000 veterans have died from complications related to COVID-19 infections.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, they have also promised in recent congressional testimony that they are hiring more staff to handle the flood of new claims, and are confident in their ability to handle the workload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saturday marked the start of a \u201cweek of action\u201d on the PACT Act benefits throughout the VA medical system, with events in all 50 states designed to highlight potential benefits for veterans included in the new law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congressional staff estimated that as many as one in every five living veterans in America today could benefit from the PACT Act\u2019s sweeping provisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans who believe they may be eligible for new health care services or benefits can visit <a href=\"http:\/\/va.gov\/PACT\" target=\"_blank\">VA.gov\/PACT<\/a> or call 1-800-MYVA411 (1-800-698-2411) for additional information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The move could speed up benefits for about 2,500 veterans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":106182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,89,12,26,62,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3222],"class_list":["post-72493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"S7TPNVVYJVGNDGSFHLMAVWCMUA","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2022\/12\/12\/va-starting-work-on-terminally-ill-vets-pact-act-claims-immediately\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>VA starting work on terminally ill vets\u2019 PACT Act claims immediately - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The move could speed up benefits for about 2,500 veterans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VA starting work on terminally ill vets\u2019 PACT Act claims immediately\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The move could speed up benefits for about 2,500 veterans.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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