Following Tester Push, VA to Fix Outdated Disability Benefits Regulations for Toxic-Exposed Veterans

VA moves to fix how toxic-exposed veterans receive disability benefits for service-connected constrictive bronchitis;

VA’s reforms directly answer Tester’s call to ensure these veterans receive the benefits they earned

Following sustained oversight efforts from Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester to ensure the PACT Act is being implemented the way Congress intended and veterans deserve, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced it is moving to update outdated benefits regulations for toxic-exposed veterans with constrictive bronchiolitis—a service-connected conditions added as VA presumptive under Tester’s PACT Act. 

Tester called on VA Secretary McDonough in April to expedite its regulations updates for constrictive bronchiolitis to ensure these toxic-exposed veterans could receive the health care and benefits they earned.

“Toxic-exposed veterans have waited decades to receive the benefits and health care the PACT Act provides, and it’s critical VA is implementing the law the way veterans need and deserve,” said Tester. “That means fixing outdated processes standing in the way of veterans and their newly-expanded benefits. I’m glad to see the Department answering my call to do this for veterans with constrictive bronchiolitis, and I’ll keep holding VA accountable to roll out this law the way Congress intended.”

Following Tester’s call, VA will update its VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) regulations for toxic-exposed veterans with constrictive bronchiolitis and add additional criteria to evaluate these veterans during their disability rating examinations. These actions will make it easier for veterans to receive an accurate disability rating for their service-connected constrictive bronchiolitis.

In April, Tester led a group of his colleagues in a letter pressing VA Secretary Denis McDonough to expedite VASRD regulationupdates for constrictive bronchiolitis. The letter followed reporting that VA’s current outdated regulations for rating constrictive bronchiolitis was leading to toxic-exposed veterans needlessly being denied the earned expanded benefits the PACT Act provided. 

During the VA disability claims process, the VASRD assigns a four-digit diagnostic code and a disability rating that determine the monthly disability compensation a veteran will receive for their service-connected conditions. VA lacked a diagnostic code specifically for constrictive bronchiolitis, so it used the code for similar conditions when rating constrictive bronchiolitis claims. Using other codes does not account for the uniqueness of constrictive bronchiolitis and results in veterans receiving disability ratings that are not aligned with the severity of their PACT Act conditions. 

“The American Legion is pleased at the recent announcement that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is updating outdated benefits regulations for toxic-exposed veterans with constrictive bronchiolitis,” said James LaCoursiere, National Commander of the American Legion. “The Legion has long been a vocal advocate for this change and argued for it during a panel discussion held in the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Room in July of this year. Toxic-exposed veterans have suffered for too long, and this change with pave the way for veterans to receive an accurate disability rating and give them the support they need. We applaud Senator Gillibrand and Senator Tester for their leadership on this issue.”

Tester championed the PACT Act and shepherded its passage through Congress in 2022. As Chairman, he fought tirelessly for years alongside veterans and Veterans Service Organizations in Montana and across the nation to deliver generations of toxic-exposed veterans and survivors their earned Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and benefits under the PACT Act. Named after Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson who died in 2020 from toxic exposure as a result of his military service, this law provides health care for Post-9/11 combat veterans, creates a framework for the establishment of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure, expands VA’s list of health conditions presumed to be caused by toxic exposures, which opens the door to additional benefits for veterans, and improves resources to support claims processing.