The VA has to investigate every veteran’s claim that the myriad health issues they wish to get care for are connected to their service. But the problem is, many of those veterans’ deteriorating health can’t wait ― including millions exposed to toxic substances.
To speed up access to care, both houses of Congress are considering legislation granting “presumptive” status to toxic exposure claims, allowing applicants to start using VA services while they wait for adjudication.
“VA’s current model of ‘wait and see’ is not working,” Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., said Wednesday during a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing prompted by the TEAM Act of 2020, introduced by Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., in October.
That bill mirrors a Senate version approved by that Veterans Affairs committee in September, which now awaits action from the full Senate. There was no discussion at the hearing of how much it would cost to enact these measures.
While the legislation has bipartisan support, much of Wednesday’s questioning focused on the VA’s process for determining whether certain symptoms are related to a long list of diseases and syndromes the VA can trace back to experiences while serving.
Any evidence of burn pit complications that came up during service has to be tracked down, if it exists on paper at all.
And that is only, of course, if the symptoms manifested during a military career. Often, they take years to compound, and can’t necessarily be traced back to a single deployment, type of training or installation.
“Truly, a veteran might have no proof that they can provide as to why they’re sick or why they can’t run a mile without stopping and being short of breath, or why they suddenly get migraines, or why they have these other symptoms…” Luria said.
On top of that, DoD doesn’t make a practice of measuring levels of toxic chemicals in the air or water troops are exposed to while deployed.
“…I think we’re all united in that we want to take that burden off the veteran,” Luria said. “Those who have come forward to ask for help deserve help. We simply cannot make them wait.”
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