One Year Under the PACT Act

The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, or PACT Act, was signed into law by President Joe Biden on August 10, 2022. The Act expands eligibility for U.S. Department of Veterans’ Administration (VA) health care for veterans with conditions related to toxic exposures, as well as for certain combat veterans who left the military without enrolling in VA health care.

Presumptive Conditions Related to Toxic Exposures

Prior to the passage of the Act, veterans with disability claims arising from toxic exposures were frequently denied. Now, 11 types of cancer and 12 illnesses are considered presumptive conditions, meaning a veteran claiming disability due to one of these conditions does not have to prove military service caused the condition.
The Act requires the VA to provide a toxic exposure screening to every veteran enrolled in VA health care.

New VA Health Care Enrollees

The Act allows veterans who deployed to a combat zone, never enrolled in VA health care, and left the military between September 11, 2001, and October 1, 2013, to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for disability benefits. The enrollment period for this special population ended on September 30, 2023.

PACT Act By the Numbers

The VA updates the PACT Act Performance Dashboard every other Friday to measure the implementation of the legislation. Figures issued on January 5, 2024, state that 665,775 total claims have been approved, and 223,934 people from the PACT Act special population have enrolled in VA health care. In addition, 5,078,680 veterans have received toxic exposure screenings since September 2022.

Kansas Statistics

In Kansas Congressional District (CD) 1, 3,229 total PACT Act claims were received between August 10, 2022, and December 30, 2023. CD 1 has a projected veteran population of 41,732. Statistics for the other CDs are as follows:

• In CD 2, 4,042 claims were received, with a veteran population of 54,344.
• In CD 3, 1,688 claims were received, with a veteran population of 39,146.
• In CD 4, 3,331 claims were received, with a veteran population of 46, 898.

KCVAO Veterans’ Claims Assistance Statistics

The Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs Office (KCVAO) regularly assists veterans in submitting claims for benefits to the VA. The KCVAO states that in state fiscal year (FY) 2022, their veterans’ service representatives assisted in submitting over 10,500 new claims on behalf of veterans in Kansas, resulting in $295.5 million being awarded to veterans. In FY 2023, the number of claims submitted by KCVAO increased by 4,258, or 40.5 percent, above the number of claims submitted in the previous fiscal year. This resulted in more than 14,750 new claims being submitted on behalf of veterans, and more than $273.4 million being paid to Kansas veterans in FY 2023. Although there was a decrease in the monetary value of claims awarded, the increase in the number of claims submitted is attributable to the expansion of the PACT Act, according to KCVAO.