Secretary of Veterans Affairs establishes service connection in association with Agent Orange
 
VA Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of Public Affairs
Media Relations

Washington, DC 20420
(202) 461-7600
www.va.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Oct. 13, 2009

VA Extends "Agent Orange" Benefits to More Veterans - Parkinson's Disease, Two Other Illnesses Recognized

WASHINGTON -Relying on an independent study by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki decided to establish a service-connection for Vietnam Veterans with three specific illnesses based on the latest evidence of an association with the herbicides referred to Agent Orange.
 
The illnesses affected by the recent decision are B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson's disease; and ischemic heart disease.

Used in Vietnam to defoliate trees and remove concealment for the enemy, Agent Orange left a legacy of suffering and disability that continues to the present. Between January 1965 and April 1970, an estimated 2.6 million military personnel who served in Vietnam were potentially exposed to sprayed Agent Orange.

In practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a "presumed" illness don't have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This "presumption" simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.

The Secretary's decision brings to 15 the number of presumed illnesses recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

"We must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will," Shinseki added. "Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."

Other illnesses previously recognized under VA's "presumption" rule as being caused by exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War are:

.  Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
.  AL Amyloidosis
.  Chloracne
.  Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
.  Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
.  Hodgkin's Disease
.  Multiple Myeloma
.  Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
.  Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
.  Prostate Cancer
.  Respiratory Cancers, and
.  Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)

Additional information about Agent Orange and VA's services and programs for Veterans exposed to the chemical are available at www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange.
 

I am a doctor specializing in the Emergency Departments of the only two
military Level One-Trauma Centers, both in San Antonio, TX and they care
for civilian Emergencies as well as military personnel. San Antonio has
the largest military retiree population in the world living here. As a
military doctor, I work long hours and the pay is less than glamorous. One
tends to become jaded by the long hours, lack of sleep, food, family contact
and the endless parade of human suffering passing before you. The arrival of
another ambulance does not mean more pay, only more work.

Most often, it is a victim from a motor vehicle crash.
Often it is a person of dubious character who has been shot or stabbed.
With our large military retiree population, it is often a nursing home
patient. Even with my enlisted service and minimal combat experience in
Panama, I have caught myself groaning when the ambulance brought in yet another
sick, elderly person from one of the local retirement centers that cater
to military retirees. I had not stopped to think of what citizens of this
age group represented.

I saw 'Saving Private Ryan.' I was touched deeply. Not so much by the
carnage, but by the sacrifices of so many. I was touched most by the scene
of the elderly survivor at the graveside, asking his wife if he'd been a
good man. I realized that I had seen these same men and women coming through
my Emergency Dept. and had not realized what magnificent sacrifices they
had made. The things they did for me and everyone else that has lived on
this planet since the end of that conflict are priceless.

Situation permitting, I now try to ask my patients about their
experiences. They would never bring up the subject without the inquiry. I have been
privileged to an amazing array of experiences, recounted in the brief
minutes allowed in an Emergency Dept. encounter. These experiences have
revealed the incredible individuals I have had the honor of serving in a medical
capacity, many on their last admission to the hospital.

There was a frail, elderly woman who reassured my young enlisted medic,
trying to start an IV line in her arm.. She remained calm and poised,
despite her illness and the multiple needle-sticks into her fragile veins. She
was what we call a 'hard stick.' As the medic made another attempt, I
noticed a number tattooed across her forearm. I touched it with one finger
and looked into her eyes. She simply said, ' Auschwitz .' Many of later
generations would have loudly and openly berated the young medic in his many
attempts. How different was the response from this person who'd seen
unspeakable suffering.

Also, there was this long retired Colonel, who as a young officer had
parachuted from his burning plane over a Pacific Island held by the
Japanese. Now an octogenarian, he had a minor cut on his head from a fall at his
home where he lived alone. His CT scan and suturing had been delayed until
after midnight by the usual parade of high priority ambulance patients.
Still spry for his age, he asked to use the phone to call a taxi, to take him
home, then he realized his ambulance had brought him without his wallet.
He asked if he could use the phone to make a long distance call to his
daughter who lived 7 miles away. With great pride we told him that he could
not, as he'd done enough for his country and the least we could do was get
him a taxi home, even if we had to pay for it ourselves. My only regret was
that my shift wouldn't end for several hours and I couldn't drive him
myself.

I was there the night M/Sgt Roy Benavidez came through the Emergency
Dept. for the last time. He was very sick. I was not the doctor taking
care of him, but I walked to his bedside and took his hand and I said nothing.
He was so sick, he didn't even know I was there. I'd read his Congressional Medal
of Honor citation and wanted to shake his hand.

http://www.psywarrior.com/benavidez.html

He died a few days later.

·        the gentleman who served with Merrill's Marauders

·        the survivor of the Bataan Death March

·        the survivor of Omaha Beach

·        the 101 year old World War I veteran

·        the former POW held in frozen North Korea

·        the former Special Forces medic - now with non-operable liver cancer

·        the former Viet Nam Corps Commander

I remember these citizens and I may still groan when yet another ambulance comes in, but now I am much more aware of what an honor it is to serve these particular men and women.

I have seen a Congress who would turn their back on these individuals
who've sacrificed so much to protect our liberty. I see later generations that
seem to be totally engrossed in abusing these same liberties, won with
such sacrifice.

It has become my personal endeavor to make the nurses and young enlisted
medics aware of these amazing individuals when I encounter them in our
Emergency Dept. Their response to these particular citizens has made me think
that perhaps all is not lost in the next generation.

My experiences have solidified my belief that we are losing an incredible
generation, and this nation knows not what it is losing. Our uncaring
government and ungrateful civilian populace should all take note. We should
all remember that we must 'Earn this.'

Written By CAPT. Stephen R. Ellison, M.D. US Army
If it weren't for the United States military,
there'd be NO United States of America ..

Folks -

Finally, after an almost two-decade fight,

VA's Advanced Funding: Now Law

It would have been nice if we had gotten direct (assured) funding. Considering how long we fought for this, and how adamant the previous administration was in their opposition to allowing any change, we have President Obama to thank for at least 'getting' us Advanced Funding and the positive effects it could have on the Veteran's VA availability of health care. And if you're asking yourself Direct... Advanced... say what... read on

Some Background - The Federal Budget

The entire federal budget can be divided into three categories: direct funded, advanced (discretionary) funded and discretionary funded programs.

Direct programs (often called entitlements because the programs have specific criteria with program-recipients 'entitled' to payments) receive guaranteed appropriations - mandatory federal funding. Direct programs include: Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and (surprise, surprise, surprise) congressional salaries and benefits (including health care).

Discretionary programs are funded annually by, that is their appropriations are at, the discretion of Congress.

The newest kid on the block is Advance Funded Programs - in reality program as there is only one so far. Advance funding provides that in a current budget cycle an item is funded is for the next budget cycle; the item is funded one year in advance.

Some Background - Federal Health Care Spending

Nearly 90 percent of all federal health care spending is direct funded; it has mandatory federal funding.

Only Native American and active duty military health care are discretionary funded.

Veteran health care, which had also been discretionary funded, is now advance funded.

Who Do We Have To Thank For This

Over a decade ago, nine veteran groups joined together to form The Partnership for Veterans Health Care Budget Reform, representing America's Veterans. They are:
- The American Legion,
- AMVETS, American Veterans,
- Blinded Veterans Association, BVA,
- Disabled American Veterans, DAV,
- Jewish War Veterans of the USA, JWV,
- Military Order of the Purple Heart, MOPH,
- Paralyzed Veterans of America, PVA,
- Veterans of Foreign Wars, VFW, and
- Vietnam Veterans of America, VVA.

A Recent Letter Of Theirs

January 9, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama
President-elect of the United States
Presidential Transition Office
Washington, DC

Dear President-elect Obama:

On behalf of the eight million veterans represented by the nine national veterans service organizations in The Partnership for Veterans Health Care Budget Reform, we are writing to urge you to recommend passage of advance appropriations legislation for the FY 2010 appropriations cycle in your first budget request and legislative program. We were pleased to read recent news accounts reporting Veterans Affairs Secretary-designee Eric Shinseki's support for the advance appropriations proposal. The inclusion of this proposal in your first budget submission would send a strong signal to the leadership of the 111th Congress and the veterans' community of your firm commitment to change the funding process for veterans' health care.

Notwithstanding the recent achievements of the 110th Congress for veterans, VA has received its annual funding for health care programs late in 19 of the last 22 years. Over the past seven years, VA received its final budget an average of three months after the start of the new fiscal year. Not knowing when or what level of funding will be approved from year to year hinders the ability of VA officials to efficiently plan and responsibly manage this exceptional health care system. Compounding the problem are new demands placed on the VA system: over the past decade the number of veterans treated at VA facilities has almost doubled and the newest generation of wartime veterans has increasingly complex mental and physical health care needs that may require a lifetime of care.

The Partnership for Veterans Health Care Budget Reform remains committed to fundamentally change the way veterans' health care is funded. While mandatory funding has been the focus over the past several years, The Partnership developed an alternative approach to achieve the same critical goals as mandatory funding -sufficient, timely and predictable funding - which is embodied in the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform Act (S. 3527 / H.R. 6939) introduced last year by Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka and House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner, respectively. This legislation would authorize Congress to approve appropriations for veterans' health care one year in advance of the start of the fiscal year, and add greater transparency and integrity to VA's internal budget process to ensure sufficient funding levels are ultimately approved.

The Veterans Health Care Budget Reform Act received strong bipartisan support from leaders in the 110th Congress, including you, Sen. John McCain and others. Along with The Partnership , the legislation has also been endorsed by The Military Coalition, comprised of 35 organizations representing more than 5.5 million members of the uniformed services - active duty, National Guard, Reserve, retired, former officers, and their families - and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). In addition, a growing list of more than two dozen former high-ranking VA officials, including medical center directors, regional health care network directors, Under Secretaries, Assistant Secretaries, and Secretaries, have joined together to support this commonsense funding reform. A national survey commissioned by Disabled American Veterans (DAV) last year also showed that more than 80% of the American public supports reforming VA health care funding through an advance appropriations process.

Mr. President-elect, we agree with your statement that it is time to, "... end the unpredictability and inadequacy of VA's discretionary funding process and instead, use an advance appropriations process that would allow Congress to provide VA health care dollars in advance and allow for improved planning and predictability." As you and your transition team continue developing your first budget request and legislative program, we urge you to include clear language requesting advance appropriations for VA medical care accounts. We stand ready to work with you, VA Secretary-designee Eric Shinseki, OMB Director-designee Peter Orzag, and others in your transition team and incoming Administration to ensure that this vital budgetary reform is enacted into law early in the 111th Congress.

Respectfully, The Partnership for Veterans Health Care Budget Reform

And What Just Happened

WASHINGTON (Associated Press & Larry Scott Founder and Editor VA Watchdog dot Org) - President Barack Obama on Thursday [October 22, 2009) signed into law a measure (The Veterans Health Care Budget Reform And Transparency Act - http://tinyurl.com/yjhfvwh - Public Law 111-081) designed to keep funding for veterans' medical care steady amid future budget negotiations.

Noting the Veterans Affairs Department is providing care for veterans without a Congress-approved budget right now, Obama said the new law would guarantee timely and predictable funding by laying out the VA budget ahead of schedule. The president said the measure would let the VA know as much as a year ahead of time just how many tax dollars officials could expect to buy equipment, provide health care and hire employees.

"Over the past two decades, the VA budget has been late almost every year, often by months," Obama said in the White House's East Room, surrounded by veterans and lawmakers. "At this very moment, the VA is operating without a budget, making it harder for VA medical centers and clinics to deliver the care our vets need."

The White House said changing the funding process was needed to protect veterans' programs, given that Congress has been late 20 of the last 23 years in passing a budget bill. Aides say the uncertainty of the budget process harms those who have served in uniform because of financial uncertainty for programs.

"This is inexcusable. This is unacceptable," Obama said.

The VA provides health care for more than 23 million American veterans; as many as a quarter of the nation's population qualifies for VA coverage, either as veterans or family members of veterans. But the budget uncertainties have led to delays in replacing medical equipment or insufficient staff to handle their work.

Obama said the funding stability will help veterans receive the care they deserve.

"It ensures that veterans' health care will no longer be held hostage to the annual budget battles in Washington," he said.
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Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty."
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