The Senate last week passed the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022. The legislation will provide Department of Veterans Affairs care and benefits to veterans experiencing adverse health effects from toxic exposure.
The long-awaited legislation has disappointed many, including Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who drafted portions of its text. Tillis said he did not vote for the PACT Act because the VA does not have “the capacity to properly implement” it. He fears the legislation could lead to “increased wait times, delays in receiving care, and a substantial increase in the claims backlog.”
A research nurse and the executive director of veteran-founded 501(c)(3) HunterSeven Foundation, Chelsey Simoni also has concerns about the VA’s capacity. HunterSeven Foundation researches the effects of toxic exposure on post-9/11 first responders and raises funds to help veterans battling various cancers and exposure-related effects. The young, seemingly healthy veterans who come to the organization have often been turned away from the VA and other health providers, as the symptoms they present are difficult to diagnose and identify.
Simoni feels the VA will struggle to fulfill the PACT Act’s mandate to reach out to all post-9/11 veterans about its enrollment period and to conduct a thorough review of adverse health conditions associated with military toxic exposures. She also believes the legislation should include “more screening” and is “off-target” by focusing on presumption rather than prevention. The PACT Act also does not include myelomas, sarcomas, leukemias, or breast cancer, which Simoni says “impacts post-9/11 active-duty servicewomen at a rate 34 times higher than their civilian counterparts.”
Up to 3.5 million veterans were exposed to burn pits during their service, making these areas — where garbage and items such as feces, chemicals, and plastics were set aflame — among the largest contributors to toxic exposures in the post-9/11 era. The PACT Act only identifies some of the areas where burn pits were used to eliminate waste. Simoni said the legislation especially leaves out “locations that [special operations forces] deploy to most frequently.” Many of the severely ill veterans HunterSeven Foundation assists are special operators.
The timeline concern is especially problematic. Veterans with chronic respiratory conditions, for example, will only obtain VA benefits upon enactment of the PACT Act. Those with cancers identified in the legislation must wait until October 2024 or October 2025 to receive VA benefits. Simoni says this is “insulting to those battling terminal cancers,” many of whom “have gone misdiagnosed [or] undiagnosed.”
In 2022 alone, HunterSeven Foundation has raised more than $90,000 to assist 66 post-9/11 veterans with their medical costs. The youngest veteran the organization is assisting is just 20 years old. He is in hospice care after losing both legs to an aggressive osteosarcoma. The oldest, at 54 years old, perished in January after battling end-stage brain cancer for two months.
501(c)(3) organization America’s Warrior Partnership is also handling care for veterans experiencing health problems related to toxic exposure. Though its primary focus has been ending veteran suicide, Chief of Development John Jones says the organization connects veterans with exposure-related conditions to a network of local and national nonprofits that can help pay for medical treatments, caregiver fees, and childcare.
Jones experienced exposures firsthand. As a Marine deployed to Iraq’s Anbar province in 2004, the closest burn pit was located “right next to [Jones’s] barracks.” Since returning from Iraq, Jones says his body periodically breaks out in brown splotches. His doctors have not identified a reason for his condition. Jones also reports that when he asks his VA doctors about the tests he should undergo as a burn pit registry enrollee, “They have no idea.”
Jones echoed Tillis’s concerns that the VA already struggles to care for its 9 million enrolled veterans, roughly half of the 17.4 million veterans in the United States. When the PACT Act increases the number of veterans seeking care, Jones believes the VA will need to “partner with nonprofit organizations” to help veterans.
Still, “The fight doesn’t stop [with the PACT Act]. We have a lot of work still to do,” Simoni said.
Beth Bailey (@BWBailey85) is a freelance writer from the Detroit area.
