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SALT LAKE CITY — President Joe Biden will visit Salt Lake City on Thursday to commemorate the first anniversary of the PACT Act, marking the occasion with a speech at the George E. Wahlen VA Hospital.
And Utah veteran organizations are urging veterans to file for PACT Act benefits by Wednesday in order to qualify for retroactive benefits.
The passing of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins Act on Aug. 10, 2022, expanded health care benefits for veterans who suffered toxic exposures from burn pits and Agent Orange in Vietnam, the Gulf War and post-9/11 combat. It also added more than 20 health issues to a list of health conditions assumed to be caused by exposure to these toxic substances, helping to ensure more veterans will get help for health problems related to their service.
"This law helps us provide generations of veterans — and their survivors — with the care and benefits they've earned and deserve," according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.
"It's one of the most significant pieces of veteran legislation to ever occur," Terry Schow, American legion service officer, said of PACT. He called for veterans to file for benefits by Wednesday to ensure they get one year of retroactive benefits.
It takes an average of 153.8 days for a claim to be approved, but Schow said that time can be sped up if veterans call the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, at 1-800-827-1000 to file over the phone.
Taylor Ricks, communications director for the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs, said the agency is "obviously thrilled" with the aid provided by the PACT Act. Even if veterans miss the year of retroactive benefits, he encourages them to apply for a claim to get the care they need going forward.
"Even if you missed that window, there's not a better time to start than today, to get those benefits," he said. Ricks encourages anyone who knows a veteran to direct them to the Utah VA, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Disabled American Veterans to make sure they get the resources they need.
As of Aug. 4, a total of 408,581 veterans across the country have applied for PACT benefits, with 348,469 of those claims approved, according to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs report. About 400,321 of those who applied are veterans, while 8,270 are surviving family members of veterans.
In Utah, more than 3,000 veterans have submitted claims, Ricks said. Around 2,800 have received benefits, totaling around $12 million in retroactive payments, with timelines of less than four months from claim to payment, Ricks said.
In the past year, the U.S. Veterans Affairs has expanded its workforce by more than 21,000 health care workers and 4,300 employees to process benefits, per the Associated Press. Ricks said the Utah VA has also expanded, with the number of Veterans Service Organization representatives more than doubling from around three or four, to eight or nine, to meet the high demand.
"The state of Utah has made veterans a priority for a long time," he said. "There's a lot of ways we can thank veterans. All of them, I think, fall short. But I think the best thing we can do is to keep trying, and these services are just a few ways we can thank them for their service and what they've done for our country."
Ricks also spoke to the impact of veterans in Utah: "Although they're no longer in uniform, they still contribute immensely and we want them to be taken care of," Ricks said. "We hope to be a path for them to get those benefits and get that gratitude that they deserve."
Veterans and survivors are encouraged to apply at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.
