100% Free VA Healthcare Entitlement per the TERA Memo
For all Vietnam, Gulf War, Middle East and Southwest Asia veterans covered under the PACT Act of 2022, you are now entitled to FREE VA Healthcare with the exposure to toxic materials because of TERA (Toxic Exposure Risk Activity). Sep 20, 2023 — In August 2022, the PACT Act was signed and expanded benefits and services for veterans with toxic exposures during service. Even if you have a VA Disability rated at 10%-40% or never, ever applied for any VA Disability Rating, the veteran is now eligible for free healthcare.
A TERA memorandum, or toxic exposure risk activity report, is a document that the VA medical examiner reviews when a veteran files a disability claim that references the PACT Act. The PACT Act, or Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, expanded benefits and services for veterans who were exposed to toxins while serving in the military.
Presently VA FREE Healthcare is available for those who:
CATEGORY 1: Veterans who participated in a toxic exposure risk activity (as defined by law) while serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.
Note: many stateside & overseas military posts and bases have been declared Toxic Waste Sites. These are not automatic and must be Service-Connected.
CATEGORY 2: Veterans who were assigned to a duty station in (including airspace above) certain locations during specific periods of time.
- On or after August 2, 1990, in: Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, or the United Arab Emirates
- On or after September 11, 2001, in: Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Uzbekistan, or any other country determined relevant by VA.
CATEGORY 3: Veterans who deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Operation Inherent Resolve, or Resolute Support Mission and other designated locations.
- EFFECTIVE ON ENACTMENT (AUGUST 10, 2022): Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam (from 1/9/62–5/7/75), Thailand at any US or Royal Thai base (from 1/9/62–6/30/76), Laos (from 12/1/65–9/30/69), certain provinces in Cambodia (from 4/16/69–4/30/69), Guam, or American Samoa or their territorial waters (from 1/9/62–7/31/80), or the Johnston Atoll or a ship that called there (from 1/1/72–9/30/77) may enroll in VA health care.
- BETWEEN OCTOBER 1, 2022, AND OCTOBER 1, 2023: Veterans who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations during a period of war after the Persian Gulf War or in combat against a hostile force during a period of hostilities after November 11, 1998, and who were discharged or released between September 11, 2001, and October 1, 2013, may enroll in VA health care. Enrollment is free, there are no annual costs, and healthcare may be free as well.
In addition a Veteran is eligible for a TERA Memorandum placed into their medical records if the participated in a TERA activity which includes:
- Handling, maintain or detonating Nuclear Weapons
- Working with radioactive material
- Using calibration and measurement sources
- Being exposed to X-rays
- Being exposed to radiation from military occupational exposure
- Being exposed to warfare agents
- Being exposed to nerve agents
- Being exposed to chemical and biological weapons
As of March 5, 2024, veterans who meet the basic service and discharge requirements and participated in a TERA are eligible to enroll in VA health care, FREE, without applying for VA benefits; meaning applying for some disability rating.
Contact your local Veteran Service Officer (VSO) offer for details. Be aware the benefit is through the Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA) and is not the same as applying for disability with the Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) a Disability rating entitling you to money. There is VA Form 10-10EZ to get and read the instructions. When this form is submitted along with any supporting documentation usually on the VBA-21-4138 it goes off to a separate address in Janesville, WI. Although you should think about applying for VA Disability Benefits ($$$) because you may well be entitled to it.
VA Added More Presumptive Conditions for Military Conflicts Since 1990
The VA has added Male Breast Cancer, Urethral Cancer and Cancer of the Paraurethral glands to the list of illnesses presumed connected to military service in conflicts since 1990. The policy change covers veterans who served in Southwest Asia. Veterans whose claims are approved may also be eligible for benefits back to August 2022 when the PACT Act of 2022 was signed. Survivors of those with these cancers maybe automatically granted financial payouts. (AirForce Times – July 2024)
More Disabilities Added to What the VA Will accept
This spring the VA announced an update to the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) specifically pertaining to digestive conditions. The changes add or modify rating criteria for 55 medical conditions in the rating schedule that incorporate medical advancements for treating certain disabilities and modern medical knowledge to compensate Veterans more accurately.
The three biggest changes that will impact you, as Veterans, include the new evaluations for Celiac Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Hemorrhoids.
Beginning May 19, Celiac Disease—an autoimmune disorder that impacts how the body processes gluten—will have its own rating criteria specifically designed to address its disabling effects. Veterans with this condition were previously granted service connection and evaluated by analogy using rating criteria that ranged from zero to 30 percent. Now under a specific diagnostic code, Veterans will be eligible for an evaluation ranging from zero to 80 percent.
VA will also adjust the rating criteria for evaluating Irritable Bowel Syndrome, also known as IBS. Previously, VA offered zero, 10 and 30 percent evaluations for the condition. Under the new criteria, Veterans may be entitled to 10, 20, or 30 percent evaluations based on the frequency of symptoms; therefore, new rating criteria will always offer a compensable evaluation.
Finally, VA addressed the evaluations for both internal and external Hemorrhoids. Previously, VA assigned a zero percent evaluation if the condition was identified as mild or moderate. For more severe findings a 10 or 20 percent evaluation was warranted. With the new rating criteria set in the rating schedule, mild or moderate hemorrhoids will now qualify for the 10 percent evaluation.
Capt. Jim Marshall USAF retd. captjim@ancan.org