Before the act, veterans faced higher hurdles in order to demonstrate past toxic exposure.
Veterans who begin the process of filing for PACT Act claims, even just by completing a document showing intent to file, could receive benefits backdated one year to Aug. 10, 2022.
Those who begin the claims process after Wednesday will not be able to receive these backdated benefits. The process does not need to be completed by Aug. 9, only started.
And the first step is easy, said Marc Rohner, a program specialist at the Dayton VA.
Just call 1-(800) 827-1000 and mark your intent to file for PACT Act benefits with the Veterans Benefits Administration’s primary customer service number.
From there, veterans have a year to complete the filing process.
“Just to put that intent to file in by the end of the day, Aug. 9, and from there they (veterans) can have up to one year to seek out one of those veterans service organizations — there are several on site at the Dayton (VA) main campus and every county in the state of Ohio has a veterans service commission that can also assist,” Rohner said.
An estimated five million American veterans may benefit from the PACT Act.
The PACT Act is one of the largest, most significant increases of federal benefits for veterans in decades.
At stake is more than health care. If veterans qualify, they may also get other benefits like mileage reimbursement for health care-related travel and tax-free monthly payments, Rohner said.
Nationwide, more than 4.1 million veterans have already received toxic exposure screenings and more than 400,000 veterans have had their claims resolved under this law.
As of mid-July, some 24,648 Dayton-area veterans had filed for the new benefits.
Veterans can still file a claim at any time, but after August 9, benefits won’t be backdated to last year.
More eligibility information is available at VA.gov/PACT.
For more information about the Dayton VA campus or to make an appointment, visit https://www.va.gov/dayton-health-care/locations/dayton-va-medical-center/
The main local phone number for the Dayton VA is (937) 268-6511.
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