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The Las Cruces Vet Center, the VFW New Mexico Foundation and VFW Post #6917 will host a PACT (Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics) Act forum about new health care and other benefits for veterans, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave., the vet center said in a news release.
The event will provide veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors important information about the PACT Act and encourage them to apply for toxic exposure-related health care and benefits they have earned, the news release said.
Albuquerque VA Regional Benefits Office Director Cesar Romero will be one of the speakers. Local VA staff will be on site to help veterans apply for benefits, complete toxic exposure screenings and enroll in VA health care in compliance with the PACT Act of 2022, a new law that expands VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances, the news release said.
To help expedite and complete claims, attendees should bring the following documents, if available: medical records/medical evidence (doctor or hospital reports), any documents that provide historical or military information needed for the disability being claimed, discharge or separation papers (DD 214 or equivalent and dependents’ records (marriage certificate, death certificate, child’s birth certificates). Spouses/widows may be eligible for dependency and indemnity compensation when a veteran dies because of a presumptive disability, the vet center said.
“Because these conditions have already taken a serious toll on so many Veterans and their families, we are considering all conditions established in the PACT Act to be presumptive on Aug. 10, 2022, the date the bill was signed into law,” Romero said.
The PACT Act expands and extends eligibility for VA health care for veterans with toxic exposures and veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War and post-9/11 eras; adds more than 20 new presumptive conditions for burn pits and other toxic exposures; adds more presumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation; Requires the U.S. Veterans Administration to provide a toxic exposure screening to every veteran enrolled in VA health care; and helps the VA improve research, staff education and treatment related to toxic exposures.
Visit https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits/.
