VA Benefits
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VA Benefits For Service Members | Veterans Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs, formerly known as the Veterans Administration, exists for one purpose and one purpose only. It is there to provide assistance, benefits and services to veterans, servicemembers, and their families. Apply for and manage the VA benefits and services you’ve earned—like health care, disability compensation, education, and more. You are encouraged to look at and become familiar with their website. This purpose of this page is to highlight and familiarize you with some of the more important benefits available to you. Use the links to the VA’s site provided in each section to get the full story.
Disability Compensation
VA Disability Compensation | Veterans Affairs
If you suffer from an injury or disease either caused by or incurred or worsened during your military service, you may be entitled to monthly compensation. These disabilities may reduce your quality of life, limit your earning potential, cause a financial burden, or be life-shortening. You must be able to prove that the disability is service-connected, typically by resorting to your military medical records. There are exceptions, however. Veterans of Vietnam, the Korean DMZ and bases in Thailand, along with some other locations, at any time during a specified period are assumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange and are entitled to compensation for various diseases which are presumed to have been caused by this exposure. Likewise, Post-9/11 veterans who served in the Gulf area are assumed to have been exposed to burn pits and other toxins and are entitled to compensation for a myriad of diseases presumed to have been caused by this exposure.
Compensable Conditions, Ratings, and Payment Amounts
Conditions/diseases you can be compensated for, the disability ratings for each of them, and the amount of compensation for specific disability rating levels are not static. Plus, the list is large, and the VA’s website contains tables that are updated as appropriate. Therefore, no attempt will be made to show them here. Instead, use the links provided below to obtain current information straight from the source.
38 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations), Book C, is the official list of compensable conditions and diseases and the disability ratings associated with them. 38 CFR Book C, Schedule for Rating Disabilities – Web Automated Reference Material System (va.gov)
The amount of your disability compensation will depend on the percentage to which you are disabled and your marital/dependent status. This amount can be found in the tables at 2023 Veterans Disability Compensation Rates | Veterans Affairs (va.gov)
* A note on combined ratings for multiple disabilities: If you have multiple rated disabilities, you cannot merely add up the separate ratings to get your total rating. A 60% disability combined with a 40% disability does NOT make a 100% disability rating.
The VA ranks multiple disabilities from the highest rating to the lowest. The highest rating (in this case 60%) is what it says. The next rating (40% in our example) is multiplied by the remaining ‘ability percentage,’ which is 100% minus the disability rating calculated thus far. So, with a 60% disability, we get 40% ability, which is multiplied by the next disability rating on your list (40%), getting 16% for your second (40%) disability. This 16% is then added to the previous 60% to get a total combined disability of 76%, which will be rounded up to 80%, since the compensation rate table is in 10% increments.
If you had a third disability rated at 10%, the VA would increase your total rating by 10% of the remaining 24% (100% minus the already calculated 76%) getting 2.4%, which, when rounded to the nearest 1%, raises the calculated rating from 76% to 78%. The end result in this case will still be rounded to 80%.
The VA website has a table for calculation of combined ratings at Combined ratings table.xlsx (va.gov)
Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange
Agent Orange Exposure And VA Disability Compensation | Veterans Affairs
The required proof of a service connection to diseases/conditions which are presumed to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange (and other defoliants) is satisfied by the fact that your service included time on the ground in Vietnam (Jan 9, 1962, through May 7, 1965). The link above provides a list of other locations where it is assumed you came into contact with Agent Orange, including the Korean DMZ, airbases in Thailand, and even some US bases.
Agent Orange is presumed to be the cause of the diseases listed below. Most of the listed disease names the names link to VA pages on the topic.
AL Amyloidosis – May be also be referred to as Amyloid Light Chain or Primary Amyloidosis
Bladder Cancer – Rating is listed under “Malignant neoplasms of the genitourinary system.”
Chronic B-cell Leukemias – This general grouping includes many related forms of leukemia, the most common of which is Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). If you are diagnosed with ANY leukemia, ask your doctor if it falls under the heading “Chronic B-Cell.”
Chloracne (or similar acneform disease) – To be compensable, chloracne must be at least 10% disabling within one year of exposure to herbicides.
Hypertension
Hodgkin’s Disease
Hypothyroidism
Ischemic Heart Disease – This is also referred to as Coronary Heart Disease or Atherosclerosis of the Coronary Arteries.
Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS) – The current disability rating for MGUS is 0% unless it results in Multiple Myeloma.
Parkinsonism
Peripheral Neuropathy, Early-Onset – To be compensable, this condition must be at least 10 percent disabling within one year of exposure to herbicides.
Porphyria Cutanea Tarda – To be compensable, this condition must be at least 10 percent disabling within one year of exposure to herbicides.
Prostate Cancer – Compensation for Prostate Cancer can continue after it is cured.
Respiratory Cancers – This includes lung cancer as well ascancers of the larynx, trachea, and bronchus.
Soft Tissue Sarcomas (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma) – A group of different types of cancers in body tissues such as muscle, fat, blood and lymph vessels, and connective tissues
At the time of this writing, Kidney Cancer has been linked to Agent Orange but is not currently listed among the ‘presumptive’ diseases.
Birth Defects Linked to Agent Orange
Birth Defects Linked To Agent Orange | Veterans Affairs (va.gov)
Agent Orange was pernicious and its effects can be passed on to a veteran’s children. Veterans who served in the affected locations whose children exhibit spina bifida or other specific birth defects need to go online to the page linked above and see what assistance or compensation is available.
Post 9/11 Veterans and Presumptive Diseases
The PACT Act And Your VA Benefits | Veterans Affairs
The PACT Act, passed in 2022, established a lengthy list of diseases which are presumed to have been caused by burn pits and other toxins during deployment to the Gulf area. Your DD214, which reflects your service in these countries, establishes the service connection to any of these conditions.
Brain cancer
Gastrointestinal cancer of any type
Glioblastoma
Head cancer of any type
Kidney cancer
Lymphatic cancer of any type
Lymphoma of any type
Melanoma
Neck cancer of any type
Pancreatic cancer
Reproductive cancer of any type
Respiratory (breathing-related) cancer of any type
Asthma that was diagnosed after service
Chronic bronchitis
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Chronic rhinitis
Chronic sinusitis
Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis
Emphysema
Granulomatous disease
Interstitial lung disease (ILD)
Pleuritis
Pulmonary fibrosis
Sarcoidosis
Survivor’s Benefit (Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)
Agent Orange and Survivors’ Benefits – Public Health (va.gov)
Surviving spouses, dependent children and dependent parents of Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and died as the result of diseases related to this exposure may be eligible for a monthly payment called Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and health care benefits under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA).
Eligibility for these benefits is generally that the veteran’s death was caused by a service-connected disability. There are, however, other requirements regarding duration and timing of marriage and such. Reading the above-linked page will provide the full story. Other benefits available to spouses and dependent children are addressed at VA Benefits For Spouses, Dependents, Survivors, And Family Caregivers | Veterans Affairs
Notice of Intent to File
Your Intent To File A VA Claim | Veterans Affairs
Once a claim has been filed with the VA for disability compensation or a survivor’s benefit, it may be months before a final decision is made. However long it takes, though, the effective date of the payment will be retroactive to the date on which the claim was filed. If it takes the government four months to make a favorable decision on your claim, your first payment will include those four months.
It may take time to gather the necessary documentation for a complete claim. You can add that time to the first payment by filing online an Intent to File a Claim for Compensation and/or Pension, or Survivors Pension and/or DIC (VA Form 21-0966). This establishes the effective date of an approved claim as the date the Notice of Intent was filed. Once you have filed the Notice of Intent, you have one full year in which to file the actual claim.
Getting Help with the Paperwork
The filing process may be a daunting task for some, but there is plenty of help available. There are numerous law firms who are anxious to file on your behalf, for a fee. There are many organizations, however, with VA Accredited Veteran Service Officers (VSOs) who are both qualified and available to you for assistance in filing your claim without charge. In most cases, they will file it for you while you sit and provide them with information. A selection of these organizations includes:
Disabled American Veterans
American Legion
Veterans of Foreign Wars
State or County Veterans Affairs Office (Actual names of these agencies will vary by state.)
(An Aside: I filed my first claim on my own and found it not too difficult, but I have a background in dealing with government regulations and paperwork. Ten years later, and ten years older, I filed a separate claim through my county VSO, which was quick and easy. VSOs know the system and work with it on a regular basis.)
Other VA Services Available to You
The Department of Veterans Affairs offers more to qualified veterans and their families than disability compensation. They offer medical assistance, including hearing aids, eyeglasses, doctors and hospitals. They will guarantee a home mortgage with $0 down. Financial assistance is available for higher education – this is NOT a loan. You owe it to yourself to investigate what the VA can do for you. You have already paid for it by selfless service to your country, and you deserve it.
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