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New VA Rules for ALS Victims |
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VA Secretary Establishes ALS as a Presumptive
Compensable Illness Cites Association between
Military Service and Later Development of ALS
WASHINGTON (Sept. 23, 2008) - Veterans with
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may receive
badly-needed support for themselves and their
families after the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) announced today that ALS will
become a presumptively compensable illness for
all veterans with 90 days or more of
continuously active service in the military.
"Veterans are developing ALS in rates higher
than the general population, and it was
appropriate to take action," Secretary of
Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake said.
Secretary Peake based his decision primarily on
a November 2006 report by the National Academy
of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IO M) on the
association between active-duty service and ALS.
"We are extremely grateful to Secretary Peake,
Congressman Henry Brown and Senator Lindsey
Graham for standing on the side of veterans with
ALS across the country," said Gary Leo,
president and CEO of The ALS Association.
"Thanks to their leadership, veterans with ALS
will receive the benefits and care they need,
when they need them. Thanks to their efforts, no
veteran with ALS will ever be left behind."
The report, titled Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
in Veterans: Review of the Scientific
Literature, analyzed numerous previous studies
on the issue and concluded that "there is
limited and suggestive evidence of an
association between military service and later
development of ALS."
"ALS is a disease that progresses rapidly, once
it is diagnosed," the
Secretary explained. "There simply isn't time to
develop the evidence
needed to support compensation claims before
many veterans become seriously ill. My decision
will make those claims much easier to process,
and for them and their families to receive the
compensation they have earned through their
service to our nation."
ALS, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a
neuromuscular disease that
affects about 20,000 to 30,000 people of all
races and ethnicities in the United States, is
often relentlessly progressive, and is almost
always fatal.
ALS causes degeneration of nerve cells in the
brain and spinal cord that leads to muscle
weakness, muscle atrophy, and spontaneous mus
cle activity. Currently, the cause of ALS is
unknown, and there is no effective treatment.
The new interim final regulation applies to all
applications for benefits
received by VA on or after September 23, 2008,
or that are pending before VA, the United States
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or the
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit on that date.
VA will work to identify and contact veterans
with ALS, including those
whose claims for ALS were previously denied,
through direct mailings and other outreach
programs.
To view the entire regulation published in the
Federal Register today, go to:
www.federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2008-21998_PI.pdf.
For more information on VA's disability
compensation program, go to www.va.gov or
contact 1-800-827-1000 |
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