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Vol. 6, No. 1 Jan/Feb 1998 |
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Agent Orange Act Provides AT Funding
Frances Ratner, Community Legal Aid Society, Inc.
Thanks to an act of Congress which took effect on October 1, 1997, some individuals with disabilities have another source of funding for assistive technology.
The Agent Orange Benefits Act of 1996 provides for health care (including assistive technology), vocational training, and monetary allowances to individuals with spina bifida whose parents served in Vietnam. The Act represents the first time in which the Veterans Administration (VA) will provide benefits to a non-veteran based on a possible relationship between that individual’s disability and a veteran’s service. VA benefits for dependents have historically been based on the death or disability of the veteran.
Historical Background
The Agent Orange Act grew out of a long-standing belief among many Vietnam veterans that birth defects in their children may have been caused by chemicals used during the war. In 1991, Congress mandated further study of a possible link between exposure to defoliants such as Agent Orange and the occurrence of adverse health effects. That study, released in 1996, showed evidence suggesting a link between exposure to defoliants in Vietnam and the occurrence of spina bifida, a birth defect resulting from the failure of the spine to properly close early in gestation. It can cause impaired mental capacity, impaired mobility, and/or incontinence, among other conditions.
Eligibility
The Agent Orange Act covers Vietnam veteran’s natural children (regardless of current age or marital status) with spina bifida (except spina bifida occulta) who were conceived after the date on which the veteran first entered Vietnam. Vietnam veterans are not required to prove exposure to Agent Orange; the law presumes that all military personnel who served in Vietnam were exposed to the substance. Congress recently proposed an amendment to the Act stating that an individual is eligible for the Act’s benefits regardless of how his or her parent was discharged from the service (e.g., honorable, dishonorable).
Benefits
The law provides for three areas of assistance. First, individuals can receive health care benefits needed for the spina bifida or for any disability associated with the spina bifida. Health care means home care, hospital care, nursing home care, outpatient care, preventive care, habilitative and rehabilitative care, case management, and respite care. It also includes training members of the individual’s family in the care of the individual, and the provision of such pharmaceuticals, supplies (including continence-related supplies such as catheters, pads, and diapers), equipment (including durable medical equipment), devices, appliances, assistive technology, direct transportation costs to and from approved sources of health care, and other materials as are determined necessary.
The second form of assistance provided by the law is vocational training and rehabilitation. An individual may receive vocational training if it is determined that the achievement of a vocational goal by the person is reasonably feasible. Any vocational training program must be designed in consultation with the individual and shall be set forth in an individualized written plan of vocational rehabilitation. The training program should include vocationally-oriented services and assistance, including such placement and post-placement services and personal and work adjustment training as are determined necessary. The program may include education at an institution of high learning if the content is predominantly vocational. The vocational program may not, however, include any automobile adaptive equipment. The vocational program generally may not exceed 24 months, unless an extension is granted.
The third form of assistance provided by the Act is monetary. Individuals may receive a monthly allowance for any disability resulting from their spina bifida. The monthly allowance may not be considered as income or resources in determining eligibility or benefits under any other federal program. The amount of the allowance is based on the degree of disability. The law provides for three levels of disability, with those at the lowest level receiving $200 per month, those at the intermediate level receiving $700 per month, and those at the highest level receiving $1,200 per month. The VA has promulgated regulations specifying the three levels of disability in more detail. However; these regulations have been criticized as placing some individuals at an inappropriately low level and as failing to take into account dozens of serious disabilities associated with spina bifida, such as blindness, limb deformation, mental disorders like depression, and life-threatening heart or respiratory conditions.
Applications
To apply for benefits under this act, you can contact the VA’s Delaware office at 998-0191 (New Castle County) or 800-827-1000 (Kent and Sussex Counties). Callers should ask for VA Form 21-0304. For further information about these benefits, you can contact the Spina Bifida Association of America at 800-621-3141.
Sources: 38 U.S.C. sec. 1801; 142 Congressional Record S9295, S9926, S11540; 143 Congressional Record H10435, S11192; 62 Federal Register 51274, 51281; VVA Veterans Benefits News, September-October 1997.
