Department of Veterans Affairs new rule for presumption of service connection for contaminants in water supply at Camp Lejeune

 

VA Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of Public Affairs

Washington, DC  20420

www.va.gov

 

 

March 14, 2017, 01:42:00 PM

 

VA’s rule establishes presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure to contaminants in water supply at Camp Lejeune

VA to provide disability benefits for related diseases

 

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) regulations to establish presumptions for the service connection of eight diseases associated with exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, are effective as of today.

 

“Establishing these presumptions is a demonstration of our commitment to care for those who have served our nation and have been exposed to harm as a result of that service,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Dr. David J. Shulkin. “The Camp Lejeune presumptions will make it easier for those Veterans to receive the care and benefits they earned.”

 

The presumption of service connection applies to active-duty, reserve and National Guard members who served at Camp Lejeune for a minimum of 30 days (cumulative) between Aug. 1, 1953, and Dec. 31, 1987, and are diagnosed with any of the following conditions:

 

 •           Adult leukemia

•           Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes

•           Bladder cancer

•           Kidney cancer

•           Liver cancer

•           Multiple myeloma

•           Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

•           Parkinson’s disease

 

The area included in this presumption is all of Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, including satellite camps and housing areas.

 

This presumption complements the health care already provided for 15 illnesses or conditions as part of the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012. The Camp Lejeune Act requires VA to provide health care to Veterans who served at Camp Lejeune, and to reimburse family members or pay providers for medical expenses for those who resided there for not fewer than 30 days between Aug. 1, 1953, and Dec. 31, 1987.

 

 

 

 

“Vietnam Veterans of America is the nation’s only congressionally chartered veterans’ service
organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families. VVA’s founding
principle is “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.