Letter to the editor

The Department of Veterans Affairs is slow in getting news out to the Veteran population. I would like to inform Vets of a recent VA decision.

Veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, (ALS – also called Lou Gehrig’s disease), may receive badly-needed support for themselves and their families after the Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Sept. 23, that ALS will become a presumptively compensable illness for all veterans with 90 days or more of continuously active service in the military.

The new interim final regulation applies to all applications for benefits received by VA on or after September 23, 2008, or that are pending before VA, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on that date. (I know that any news other than a cure is not really good news for persons with ALS, but this NEW Regulation could help financially, BJ.)

For more information on this new VA decision, check this Internet Site: http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/vap08/vap092308-1.htm

/s/Bobby Jefcoat

(Editor’s note: Bobby Jefcoat is a veteran and veterans’ advocate whose letters regarding issues important to veterans are frequently seen on these pages.)