Agent Orange
Report on Virginia VA center finds problems
Jan 21st
By Rick Maze–Military Times
A new report from the Veterans Affairs Department inspector general will help fuel complaints about an error-filled disability claims process in need of a complete overhaul.
Investigators looking at claims processing at the VA regional office in Roanoke, Va., found that 25 percent of the case files they closely studied had serious mistakes. Some veterans were denied benefits they deserved, and disability compensation was given to others who were not eligible.
Many errors involved Vietnam veterans with disability claims related to exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange.
Popularity: 27% [?]
Door Opens to Health Claims Tied to Agent Orange
Oct 13th
By JAMES DAO–NY TIMES–
Under rules to be proposed this week, the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to add Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and hairy-cell leukemia to the growing list of illnesses presumed to have been caused by Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant used widely in Vietnam.
The proposal will make it substantially easier for thousands of veterans to claim that those ailments were the direct result of their service in Vietnam, thereby smoothing the way for them to receive monthly disability checks and health care services from the department.
The new policy will apply to some 2.1 million veterans who set foot in Vietnam during the war, including those who came after the military stopped using Agent Orange in 1970. It will not apply to sailors on deep-water ships, though the department plans to study the effects of Agent Orange on the Navy.
The shift underscores efforts by the secretary of veterans affairs, Eric Shinseki, a retired Army chief of staff and a Vietnam veteran himself, to reduce obstacles to sick or disabled veterans’ receiving benefits. The department has come under sharp criticism from Congress and veterans groups for long delays in processing disability claims.
“Since my confirmation as secretary, I’ve often asked why, 40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, we’re still trying to determine the health consequences to our veterans who served in the combat theater,” Mr. Shinseki said in a statement. “Veterans who endure a host of health problems deserve timely decisions.”
The veterans department already recognizes more than a dozen conditions as being presumptively connected to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, including Hodgkin’s disease, prostate cancer and Type 2 diabetes.
But for diseases not on that list, veterans are required to provide evidence directly relating their service in Vietnam to their illness, a requirement that often leads to application rejections and prolonged appeals.
Veterans department officials estimate that about 200,000 veterans might seek benefits under the proposed change in policy. But they said they could not estimate the cost of the change until the policy underwent public review and was published in final form, which could take several months.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Report Sees Agent Orange Link to More Illnesses
Jul 24th
By JANIE LORBER
New York Times
An expert panel reported on Friday that two more diseases may be linked to exposure to Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the American military during the Vietnam War.
People exposed to the chemical appear, at least tentatively, to be more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease, according to the report. The report was written by a 14-member committee charged by the Institute of Medicine with determining whether certain medical conditions were caused by exposure to herbicides used to clear stretches of jungle.
The results, though not conclusive, are an important first step for veterans groups working to get the government to help pay for treatment of illnesses they believe have roots on the battlefield. Some other conditions linked to Agent Orange already qualify.
Claud Tillman, a 61-year-old veteran from Knoxville, Tenn., who lost his job repairing guns after he received a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, said those benefits could help dig him out of tens of thousands of dollars in debt.
Mr. Tillman has not worked since March 2007 and now lives on loans from relatives, including his son. “It sure has messed my life up,” said Mr. Tillman, who said he was sure he became ill after exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam. “I don’t know how to explain it. It won’t be long till I’m living under a bridge. I am confident that that’s where it came from, but there’s no way to prove it.”
Since 1994 the Institute of Medicine committee has found 17 conditions associated with exposure to the chemical, 13 of which qualify veterans for service-connected disability benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In its latest report, the committee found “limited or suggestive evidence” linking the herbicide to Parkinson’s and ischemic heart disease. In the past, that has been enough evidence of a link to prompt benefits for some conditions but not for others.
The group Vietnam Veterans of America plans to write a letter to the secretary of veterans affairs, Eric K. Shinseki, asking for extended benefits, said Bernard Edelman, the organization’s deputy director for policy and government affairs.
The report notes that its conclusions about ischemic heart disease, a condition that restricts blood flow to the heart, causing irregular heartbeats and deterioration of the heart muscle, are still tentative because it is difficult to separate confounding risk factors like age, weight and the effects of smoking. The link between Parkinson’s disease and Agent Orange is also uncertain because, while new studies have strengthened the connection between the condition and certain chemicals, there is still no data on veterans and the condition.
Alan Oates, a member of a group called U.S. Military Veterans with Parkinson’s Disease, said it could be years before the department made a final rule on benefits. A bill providing benefits has been introduced by Representative Bob Filner, Democrat of California and the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
In 1991, amid growing concern about serious health consequences from Agent Orange, Congress ordered the National Academy of Sciences to provide independent scientific reviews. Every two years the Institute of Medicine, a private research affiliate of the academy, submits to the department a report updated with conclusions from new studies.
Past reports published by the group have found substantial evidence that soldiers exposed to Agent Orange are more likely to develop cancers including soft-tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Hodgkin’s disease, as well as chloracne, a severe form of acne. The department has extended benefits for all of these conditions.
The 2003 report showed a slightly increased risk of leukemia, prompting the Veterans Affairs Department to extend benefits to veterans with the disease.
Popularity: 52% [?]
