Early last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs stated that their goal was to make a decision on whether to extend care and benefits to veterans affected by Agent Orange. Now, more than a year later, the VA has announced that the decision won’t be made for at least six more months.
According to an article published by Radio.com, “On Nov. 17, VA Press Secretary Christina Noel said in a statement that the department had no announcements on changes to the list of presumptive Agent Orange conditions or updates on the two internal studies which Secretary Robert Wilkie said previously would be key in his decision. That list of “presumptive” conditions includes all of the illnesses VA recognizes as service-connected diseases related to the toxic herbicide and therefore provides coverage and benefits for. Days later, however, Noel told Connecting Vets that a decision is unlikely before mid-2021, when the results of the studies are now expected.”
Relevant pages: Veterans Disability