The PACT Act and VA changes
Submitted by
Veteran & Family Services Office
The VA increased their staffing with the introduction of the PACT Act. Veterans became eligible for 23 presumptive conditions. This legislation also opened doors for veteran families to access more benefits.
The PACT Act presented the largest number of disability conditions made available at one time in the history of the VA!
Over 458, 000 claims were submitted in the first year after the PACT Act was signed on August 10, 2022.
Those claims resulted in earned benefits totaling more than $1.85 billion.
There have been a lot of changes in the last few months within the Federal Government.
Recently, the announcement came that the VA is going to downsize 83,000 employees by August 2025. We know that this will bring changes.
It is unclear at this point, what those changes will be. It may mean longer wait times when calling 800-827-1000 to get answers to questions. It may mean that claim processing times will be longer, longer wait times for C&P exams or longer wait times getting any appointments.
The VA is changing access to your health records through MyHealthEVet; you will have to use VA.gov
The Veteran and Family Services Office (VFSO) staff remains committed to continue assisting veterans and their families.
We will be hosting two events in March: a Round Table March 12 and Vietnam Veteran’s Day March 28.
We encourage you to bring a copy of your DD214 to our events for us to make a copy.
The copy will be retained by VFSO in case your DD214 is lost or a copy is needed by the family to ensure you receive the military honors you’ve earned.
For the families, a generic DD214 is attached. It may look slightly different depending on how old it is. PLEASE make sure you know where it is! We will gladly keep a copy for you. Encourage the veteran to share its location with you!
Save the date: March 28, 2025 will be our Vietnam Veterans Celebration. Location and time TBD.
Peer Support Specialist - Wesley Rhodes 520-610-4383
Peer Support Specialist - Darrell Whitman 520-610-2037
Veteran Service Officer – Kim Skelton 520-610-7644