US Veterans Receive Major Health Care Boost

The Biden-Harris administration has expanded benefits for veterans with several types of cancer believed to be linked to toxic burn pits. They will now be allowed to receive crucial care without having to prove that their service caused the condition.
The new step, announced on Wednesday, creates a presumptive service connection for Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans diagnosed with acute and chronic leukemias, multiple myelomas, myelodysplastic syndromes, myelofibrosis, urinary bladder, ureter, and related genitourinary cancers.
Newsweek contacted the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Veterans Association of America for comment by email on Thursday morning, outside of standard working hours.
Why It Matters
The expansion will help veterans who have been exposed to burn pits used to burn waste on military bases receive faster care for their conditions, without having to wait through the complex process of proving their condition was caused by their service.
It is not a small step: a senior official mentioned by USA Today said the Biden administration estimates that tens of thousands of veterans who were diagnosed with the types of cancer listed in the expansion will become eligible for benefits over the next 10 years.
What To Know
The new move expands the 2022 PACT Act, a legislation that widened access to health care benefits for veterans exposed during deployment to burn pits. These were open-air trash sites commonly used by the military in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas of Southwest Asia to burn waste in the bases.
The Department of Defense has since then closed most of the burn pits in its bases and plans to close the rest, according to the VA.
Initially, the PACT Act included 23 different respiratory illnesses and cancers linked to exposure to burn pits and was estimated to affect 3.5 million veterans.
U.S. military veterans listen to Vice President Kamala Harris in the amphitheater of the Arlington National Ceremony on November 11, 2022, in Arlington, Virginia. The Biden administration has expanded benefits and care for veterans who… U.S. military veterans listen to Vice President Kamala Harris in the amphitheater of the Arlington National Ceremony on November 11, 2022, in Arlington, Virginia. The Biden administration has expanded benefits and care for veterans who had been exposed to toxic burn pits during their time in service. More Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Now, more veterans will be able to access the type of benefits and care offered to former service members who were exposed to harmful chemicals during war, such as Agent Orange and radiation.
Veterans with the types of cancer listed in the expansion,