All healthcare systems are providing care to Veterans (as well as National Guard, reservists, active duty military, and their families), whether they can identify them or not. The Warrior Community's extreme health disparities, combined with commercial healthcare's inattention to their needs, add up to a classic healthcare inequity. That’s why it’s crucial for commercial hospitals to have a comprehensive understanding of the PACT Act.
The PACT Act is a milestone in Veteran care
Signed into law in 2022, The PACT Act—officially known as the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022—aims to improve care and benefits for American military Veterans who have been exposed to a range of toxic substances, including burn pits and Agent Orange. People who would previously have had to prove a direct relationship between their specific conditions and the toxic exposures they experienced on active duty are now presumed to have been adversely affected and are, therefore, eligible for benefits.
As of May 2024, over five million Veterans have already been screened—free of charge. That’s fantastic, but…
To be fully effective, the PACT Act needs support from commercial health systems
While the PACT Act provides funding for specific VA treatments for any Veteran who has been exposed to a variety of toxins, the fact remains that the great majority of Veterans currently get all or most of their care from commercial hospitals and clinics, not the VA. Plus, it will take years for the VA to add the capacity to treat all Veterans with conditions that fall under the PACT Act.
So you have to ask yourself:
Where will most Veterans go for screening? What about Veterans who don’t get screened—who will diagnose them for PACT-covered conditions? Who will refer them to the VA for treatment? Where will they most likely be treated if the VA is inaccessible to them?
Commercial facilities NEED to be involved.
What will commercial healthcare systems need to do?
Providing the primary care Warrior Community patients need to respond to the PACT Act isn't complicated, but it does require focused attention and a bit of training:
- Ask patients whether they’ve served.
- Ask where they’ve served.
- Make your providers aware of presumptive symptoms.
- Be prepared to refer patients to the VA.
- Consider additional evaluation for patients with symptoms of chronic exposure. View the WRIISS Burn Pit Fact Sheet here.
- Encourage eligible Veterans to join the Open Burn Pit Registry. Patients who may qualify for AHOBPR can find out more here.
