In his speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, President Joe Biden touted the 2022 PACT Act as “one of the most significant laws ever helping veterans and their families” and a cornerstone of his administration’s achievements.
But the full impact of the law — which granted new disability benefits to veterans who suffered toxic exposure injuries while in the ranks — may not be known for years to come. More veterans received health care and financial aid through the law in its second year than the first, and Department of Veterans Affairs statistics suggest that number could continue to grow into the future.
The law — officially the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act — passed its two-year anniversary earlier this month. When it was enacted, veterans advocates estimated that as many as one in every five veterans living in America today might benefit from some provisions in the measure.
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The PACT Act provides for presumptive benefit status for 12 types of cancer and 12 other respiratory illnesses linked to burn pit exposure in the Gulf War and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, or MGUS, for veterans who served in Vietnam and radiation-related illnesses for veterans who served in several locations in the 1960s and early 1970s.
It also extended health care eligibility within the VA system to tens of thousands of veterans while mandating new research and processing procedures for future toxic exposure injuries.
VA officials said that, since the PACT Act was signed into law two years ago, the department has approved more than 1 million disability claims related to its provisions, totaling more than $6.8 billion in payouts.
Of that total, more than half were approved after August 2023, following a year of officials publicizing the act’s offerings.
Similarly, nearly 740,000 veterans have enrolled in VA health care thanks to new PACT Act eligibility since August 2022, according to VA data. More than half of that new enrollment has come in the past 12 months.
VA officials have credited these successes to a public push to get word out on the part of lawmakers, advocates and federal offices over the last two years. They’ve also promised to keep that work going into the future.
That work includes toxic exposure screenings at VA medical centers for all patients. The department has conducted about 5.7 million such medical reviews in the last two years, designed to identify potentially life-threatening health conditions among veterans as early as possible.
VA leaders also report seeing a steady increase in disability benefits submissions in recent years, beyond just the PACT Act submissions, and anticipate that number will continue to grow in coming years.
Aug. 14 was the deadline for individuals to file PACT Act disability claims that could be retroactively awarded to August 2022, giving a substantial windfall to veterans and survivors with approved claims.
But individuals who apply in the future can still receive payouts from the date of their filing, a move that can bring in tens of thousands of dollars a year for struggling veterans.
Go here to learn more about filing a PACT Act claim.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
