WASHINGTON — Vietnam veterans with “Type 2” diabetes came closer today to receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with the formal publication of the rules that will allow VA to provide benefits to those veterans.
“The hazards of the battlefield include more than bullets and shells,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. “As our understanding of the health risks faced by our military personnel increases, VA will adjust its programs and benefits to fit the needs of veterans.”
Principi’s announcement came as the Federal Register today published VA’s final rules for benefits for Vietnam veterans with “Type 2” diabetes. Under federal law, those rules don’t take effect for 60 days. However, VA offices are already accepting claims from eligible Vietnam veterans.
Veterans affected by the new rules will receive a priority for VA health care, and, depending upon the severity of their illnesses, disability compensation that ranges from $101 to $2,107 monthly.
Today’s announcement follows a report in November by the National Academy of Sciences’ prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) that found “limited / suggestive” evidence of a link between adult-onset, or Type 2, diabetes, and Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam.
VA estimates that about 9 percent of the 2.3 million Vietnam veterans still alive have Type 2 diabetes. The illness is characterized by high blood sugar levels caused by the body’s inability to process the hormone insulin. Approximately 16 percent of veterans currently receiving care in VA medical facilities have been diagnosed with diabetes.
Cost of the new benefit during the next five years is projected to be $3.3 billion, with about 220,000 veterans receiving benefits.
The number of diseases recognized by VA as associated with Agent Orange has steadily increased since the early 1990s. The following conditions are now considered service–connected for veterans who served in Vietnam: chloracne (a skin disorder); porphyria cutanea tarda (a liver disorder); acute or subacute peripheral neuropathy (a nerve disorder); and certain cancers, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, soft tissue sarcoma, Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma, prostate cancer and respiratory cancers (including cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea and bronchus).
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Reporters and media outlets with questions or comments should contact the Office of Media Relations at vapublicaffairs@va.gov
Veterans with questions about their health care and benefits (including GI Bill). Questions, updates and documents can be submitted online.
Veterans can also use our chatbot to get information about VA benefits and services. The chatbot won’t connect you with a person, but it can show you where to go on VA.gov to find answers to some common questions.
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