By Lynne Peeples
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced plans on Monday to begin revising how it grants disability benefits for veterans who lived at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in North Carolina, during the 30-plus years that toxic chemicals tainted the base’s drinking water.
The VA’s move to establish “presumptive status” for these exposed veterans — that is, to presume that specific illnesses diagnosed in certain vets are a result of their military service — should eventually make it easier for them to win benefits.
The change comes amid scrutiny over the growing rates of disability claim denials since the 2013 launch of the agency’s subject matter experts (SME) program. Veterans, along with advocates and scientists, have speculated that the program may be part of an effort to deny claims and evade
the responsibility to care for veterans sickened by environmental exposures while serving their country.
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