The New York Times reported yesterday that under rules to be proposed this week, the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to add Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and hairy-cell leukemia to the growing list of illnesses presumed to have been caused by Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant used widely in Vietnam.

The proposal will make it substantially easier for thousands of veterans to claim that those ailments were the direct result of their service in Vietnam, thereby smoothing the way for them to receive monthly disability checks and health care services from the department.

The new policy will apply to some 2.1 million veterans who set foot in Vietnam during the war, including those who came after the military stopped using Agent Orange in 1970. It will not apply to sailors on deep-water ships, though the department plans to study the effects of Agent Orange on the Navy.

The shift underscores efforts by the secretary of veterans affairs, Eric Shinseki, a retired Army chief of staff and a Vietnam veteran himself, to reduce obstacles to sick or disabled veterans’ receiving benefits. The department has come under sharp criticism from Congress and veterans groups for long delays in processing disability claims.

“Since my confirmation as secretary, I’ve often asked why, 40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, we’re still trying to determine the health consequences to our veterans who served in the combat theater,” Mr. Shinseki said in a statement. “Veterans who endure a host of health problems deserve timely decisions.”

“This is great news,” said National Veterans Foundation (NVF) President Shad Meshad.  “So many Vietnam War Veterans contact us every month about devastating medical conditions their doctors know are connected to Agent Orange exposure and many of them are still denied benefits after months and sometimes years of fighting claims battles with the VA.”

Early this year, the NVF championed the cause of one such Veteran, Garry Price.  Garry, who died from cancer that VA doctors told him was connected to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, was denied disability benefits after more than a year of stalling by the Veterans Benefits Administration.  To learn more about Garry Price’s story, visit www.denydeny.org.

Read the full New York Times Article.