COASTAL LIVING
       December  2000

VA Links Agent Orange and Diabetes

          On November 9, 2000, VA's Acting Secretary, Hershel Gober, announced his decision to add diabetes to the list of presumptive diseases associated with herbicide exposure.  Vietnam veterans with Type II diabetes will now be eligible for disability compensation and free medical care.   Secretary Gober's decision follows the latest in a series of reports which found "limited/suggestive" evidence of an association between Type II diabetes and the chemicals used in Vietnam herbicides to defoliate trees and remove undergrowth, between January 1965 and April 1970.

          VA already grants a service connected rating for diabetes when the disease developed during active military service.  This decision surely paves the way for a service connected rating for any veteran who served in-theater during the Vietnam War and, in turn, developed or develops diabetes (adult onset diabetes mellitus), without the veteran having to prove that exposure to Agent Orange caused the disease.  Normally a claimant must show proof of relationship between service and the condition being claimed.  Under presumption of service connection, the VA presumes the relationship, if the condition is diagnosed within the time period specified in the Code of Federal Regulations.

          VA officials are in the process of writing the regulations which will govern the adjudication of claims for diabetes as a presumptive condition.  The VA has 60 days to publish a proposed set of rules for implementing this change in benefits.  After the publishing of the proposed rules, a 90-day period begins where the VA will seek input to the proposal before the publishing of the final rules.

          Even though we have no hard copy of rules/implementing instructions, I would encourage any veteran with in-country Vietnam service and diagnosed diabetes mellitus to contact his or her local veterans services office for information and assistance on applying for benefits.  The Carteret County Veterans Services can be reached at (252) 728-8440.

Veteran Benefits

          The Department of Veteran Affairs offers a wide variety of programs and services for our Nation's 25 million veterans.  In 1999, more than 3.6 million veterans were treated at VA health care facilities; 2.6 million received VA disability payments/compensation or pension payments; 316,000 took classes with GI educational benefits; 486,000 veterans bought homes with GI Bill home loan guarantees; and 78,000 were buried in VA national cemeteries.  If you are a veteran and you have not looked into or considered your veterans benefits, you should see what is available.  You have surely earned them.  For more information, call Veterans Services at (252) 728-8440.

For the Military Retiree TRICARE-for-Life

          Recent legislation has greatly enhanced the government's promise of lifetime medical care for retirees.  The President recently signed into law the FY2001 Defense Authorization Act which included provisions authorizing TRICARE-for-life and pharmacy coverage for Medicare-eligible retirees and allocated part of the government surplus to establish a trust fund that makes this coverage a mandatory entitlement that will not have to compete for funding with the rest of the Defense budget.

          According to an in-the-know source, this provision will save the average Medicare-eligible retiree approximately $1,500 a year per person in insurance premiums for the rest of his/her life.  In addition, it will cover most of the pharmacy costs now paid by beneficiaries.

          An important note is that this provision will not take effect until October 1, 2001, so one should not drop/discontinue Medicare supplemental insurance until we are all assured that DOD has TRICARE-for-life fully implemented.  For a brief/comprehensive handout on the subject contact Veterans Services at (252) 728-8440.

VA Prescription Medication