PACT Act: Everything You Need to Know About It
What does PACT Act mean?
Federal legislation known as the PACT Act increases access to medical care for disabled Veterans who cannot receive timely VA treatment. The measure also improves access to care for Veterans who live more than 40 miles from a VA medical Centre, addressing waste, fraud, and abuse inside the VA system.
Veterans with disabilities now have access to outside care for some conditions that were previously deemed too complex for outpatient care. Public Law 113-89, the PACT Act, was ratified in August 2014 and became operative. Tim Walz, a representative from Minnesota and the ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, sponsored it.
How the Ithaca PACT act expands VA benefits to disabled veterans?
Veterans who receive a service-connected disability rating of 50% or more are eligible for the full range of benefits through the Veterans Affairs (VA) system. A VA also includes help for Veterans who are receiving treatment for a disability related to combat. The new Ithaca PACT Act expands the definition of “disability” to have a broader range of injuries and diseases.
The law also allows Veterans who live more than 40 miles away from a VA facility to receive care at an outside facility of their choice. The new legislation also expands options for treatment with Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) or a different medication approved by the FDA and access to treatment for sleep disorders.
The Ithaca PACT Act also includes provisions to combat waste, fraud, and abuse within the VA.
The bill requires the VA to publish a list of Veterans’ preferences when providing care. It also requires the VA to provide more notice to Veterans about the process for requesting consideration from outside health care providers. Finally, the law requires the VA to make it easier for Veterans to access data about the quality of care provided by external providers.
How will you benefit from the Ithaca PACT act?
PACT Act veterans will have complete access to the full range of benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Veterans currently receiving care at a VA health care facility with a service-connected disability rating of 50% or more will now have access to care at outside facilities of their choice. Additionally, PACT Act veterans may now receive treatment for sleep disorders, Hepatitis C, and other conditions that were previously considered too complicated for outpatient treatment. This should lead to reduced wait times at VA facilities and better access to care from outside providers.
Should you enforce a VA accessory dwelling contract?
Before the new law passed, many disabled Veterans could only access VA benefits through a VA contract with their homeowner. These contracts were often called “accessory dwelling contracts” and were associated with permanent disabilities. To enforce a VA AD contract, disabled Veterans would have to prove that the VA contract entitled them to extra benefits. Click here to learn more about the extra benefits.
The PACT Act makes it easier for veterans who are disabled to enforce their rights under the new law. The new law makes it easier for disabled Veterans to establish their right to extra benefits under the VA contract. Before the new law passed, it was often difficult for disabled Veterans to show this right.
