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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register today establishing a presumption of service connection for ALS for any veteran with at least 90 continuous days of active duty service who develops the disease any time after separation from service. An older rule had established a presumption of service connection with the disease for veterans who developed ALS within a year of their separation from service.
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ALS is a rare and fatal neurological degenerative disease with no known cause or cure. The strongly identified link between military service and the disease remains a mystery.
The new regulation is effective immediately and applies to all applications for benefits received by VA on or after September 23, 2008. The regulation also applies to claims pending before VA or one of the various appellate courts on the effective date of the interim final rule.
"The American Legion has long supported an indefinite presumption for ALS and we applaud the Secretary's decision to finally create this overdue regulation," said National Commander David Rehbein.
One of the first indications of a link between military service and an increased incidence of ALS among veterans came in 2001 when pre-published research suggested that 1991 Gulf War veterans are twice as likely as their non-deployed counterparts to develop the disease. Subsequently, a 2005 Harvard University study stated that men and women with any history of military service in the last century are at a nearly 60% greater risk of the disease than men and women who did not serve in the military.
Concurrently, at the request of VA, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) conducted a review of the few existing peer-reviewed studies on ALS in the veteran population to ascertain if, indeed, an association exists between military service and the development of ALS and to make recommendations, if an association is indicated, that would help to identify risk factors. In the IOM report released in 2006, entitled Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Veterans: Review of the Scientific Literature, the IOM Committee concluded that there was a limited and suggestive association between the development of ALS and military service.
"Although more research needs to be conducted to identify possible military-related risk factors that cause ALS in veterans, the IOM's determination that there is suggestive evidence of an association provided the evidence and justification necessary for VA to make benefits available on a presumptive basis for those whose service in the military may have caused the disease to develop," added Rehbein.
The American Legion is hopeful that future research will identify the risk factors that make service members more susceptible to this horrific disease. Identifying these risk factors will help in determining necessary protective measures that could prevent the illness from ever developing in veterans.
Veterans diagnosed with ALS, including those whose claims were denied in the past, or the surviving spouse of a veteran who died as a result of ALS, are encouraged to contact their American Legion service officer for more information or assistance with filing a claim by calling 800-433-3318.
SOURCE The American Legion
