Burn Pits 360 on the VA’s New Disability Rating Rule and Its Impact on PACT Act Illnesses
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Kalen Cotto
Phone: 4016260468
Burn Pits 360 strongly opposes the Department of Veterans Affairs’ new interim final rule titled “Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication,” which directs disability evaluations to rely on how a veteran appears while medicated rather than fully accounting for the underlying severity and long-term impact of illness.
This policy raises serious concern for veterans suffering from conditions covered under the Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022. The PACT Act was designed to finally acknowledge the lasting health effects of toxic exposure including illnesses that often worsen over time, fluctuate unpredictably, and may only be temporarily controlled through aggressive treatment.
Medication does not cure toxic exposure disease. It helps veterans survive.
Respiratory illnesses remain among the most visible examples, including asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), constrictive bronchiolitis, pulmonary fibrosis, chronic sinusitis, rhinitis, and other chronic lung conditions linked to burn pits and airborne hazards. However, this concern extends far beyond respiratory disease alone.
Many other illnesses now recognized under the PACT Act may also be impacted by evaluation standards that rely on a single, treated snapshot of health, including:
- Cancers associated with toxic exposure, including respiratory cancers, gastrointestinal cancers, reproductive cancers, head and neck cancers, and other presumptive cancers
- Cardiovascular and systemic conditions affected by long-term exposure and chronic inflammation
- Neurological and immune-related illnesses that fluctuate in severity or present episodically
- Chronic inflammatory and multi-system disorders that may appear stable only due to ongoing medication or treatment
- Skin conditions and chronic sinus conditions that can cycle between controlled and severe stages
These diseases are often progressive and unpredictable. Veterans may appear stable during an examination only because they rely on inhalers, steroids, oxygen therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or other intensive treatment regimens. Evaluating disability based solely on how someone functions at their best treated moment risks dramatically underestimating the true burden of illness.
Veterans should never be penalized for following medical advice or using the treatments required to stay alive.
Burn Pits 360 believes:
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Disability evaluations must measure the real functional impact over time, not a single exam snapshot.
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Temporary symptom control should not be confused with recovery or reduced disability.
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Toxic exposure illnesses require longitudinal review and specialty-informed evaluation standards.
- The intent of the PACT Act must be protected so veterans are not under-rated or under-compensated.
The PACT Act represented a historic promise to veterans, a promise that their invisible wounds would finally be recognized. Policies that narrow how illnesses are evaluated risk weakening that promise and undermining years of bipartisan progress driven by veterans and families across this country.
Burn Pits 360 calls on the Department of Veterans Affairs to reconsider this rule and engage veterans, clinicians, and advocacy organizations in developing evaluation standards that reflect medical reality and lived experience.
Our message is clear: Veterans did not choose toxic exposure, and they should not be forced to fight again to prove the true severity of the illnesses they brought home from war.
