CLEVELAND — News 5 is staying on top of a law designed to connect veterans with the care they need. Last Summer, News 5 anchor Rob Powers reported on a major expansion of the PACT Act. It added to the list of conditions presumed to be caused by exposure to toxic substances like burn pits. It also expanded the list of areas of service so all those veterans could access health care and resources from the VA.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
Now, there’s another major expansion to The PACT Act. News 5 spoke with the Registered Nurse Program Manager for Post-9/11 Military2VS (M2VA) Case Management, Bobby Rood. He said this new expansion means the PACT Act covers practically every veteran alive today, with certain exceptions like dishonorable discharge. That includes those who were not deployed overseas.
“People who are serving at home and they were exposed to say, lead-based paint or firefighting foam is a big one in training purposes and things like that. So those people now, who were exposed to those types of toxins, even serving at home and not in deployed status, are eligible,” he said.
The Cleveland VA said 15,475 Ohio Veterans have enrolled in VA health care since the PACT Act was signed into law in August 2022. To find out if you’re eligible, click here.
