Read our newest blog post about The PACT Act here.
The Pact Act is a New Hope for those who
are fighting for benefits or those who
have been denied disability benefits due
to agent orange or other toxins so here
with us today to raise awareness is Greg
Steen CEO of senior care advocate so I
was doing a little research and this is
this is good news for vets out there so
what's The Pact act it's great news it's
probably the biggest
new law that's come down the pike for
the VA ever and it's it's such great
news so it was really designed to go
back and correct a lot of wrongful
denials and open up
presumptive claims for people that were
maybe in the past having to prove that
or anything they were suffering from was
you know service connected when in
reality they shouldn't have to prove it
and so it really opens up so much it's
also for surviving spouses anybody who
is you know
denied in the past they can go back and
have that reopened yeah so it's
amazing news it's great news it really
is and it comes from such an interesting
time in American history so tell us why
this is so important
well first of all I think we deserve
excuse me our veterans deserve
everything we can do for them because
you know they they're at risk obviously
and a lot of them never came back so
when they have things like you know Home
Loans or education benefits or you know
service connected benefits those are
awesome and they're very very good but
there's so much more there and the VA
says you know their own quote is that
for all their benefits
um less than 50 percent of all veterans
take advantage of any of them so I think
it's important that we obviously
recognize they're there and then help
people stare them in the right direction
because there's so many veterans that
are suffering I mean obviously the
homeless we all know about that homeless
veterans it's it's it's really sad but
there's so many that are just not being
helped and they're suffering and soon
and so why why do you think that is I
mean I hear so my boyfriend was in the
Army and he he talks about that a lot
that there are so many benefits the
people either don't know about or they
don't know how to access so why do you
think that is
a couple things
sadly I think the VA doesn't do a great
job of informing that upon return
secondly the veterans service offices
are welming people great people but
completely overwhelmed and can only do
basically what's you know the task at
hand yeah they don't have time to follow
up and whatnot the educational aspect of
the VA is really lacking but also you
have veterans maybe not like you know
the younger ones but the older ones that
are
kind of um not wanting to be a burden on
the system so they'll say things like
hey I'm okay leave it for those who need
it more that type of thing but I think
the big thing is just not understanding
what's there yeah and not really
understanding what the what the purpose
is because leaving it for somebody that
there that's there is a really good
intention but really you're just leaving
benefits on the table going unused
absolutely so we want people to be able
to tap into that you so you mentioned
when we're talking about
um The Pact act that surviving spouses
can qualify absolutely and so what might
they qualify for so they can qualify for
back pay based upon an award that should
have been given they can qualify
sometimes for an Indemnity benefit which
is ongoing income they can qualify maybe
for a service connected pension through
that that's ongoing income
um and so there's you know lots of ways
of uh of helping people be because you
know on these spouse especially for the
older generation they paid a price too
yeah right when they loved and went off
you know and served they were there they
kind of held down the fort and did a lot
of things that they had to do
um I think that they should get
something absolutely I mean you operate
as a family unit and so you should you
should your benefit should be awarded to
the family unit so the The Pact Act is
is it specifically for
um people that might have had
repercussions because of Agent Orange
and other toxins or is it does it cover
people who were asked to prove that they
had a service related injury or
something like that so good question
um the short answer is yes it's for
basically you know agent orange all the
toxins yeah
um Airborne type of things and it's also
for people that were denied that could
go back and now that these things are uh
presumed to be you know caused by this
the VA would basically rubber stamp it
and say yes you know that was a cause we
owed you money we're going to go back
and pay you those minis so it's not for
just anybody and everybody that has any
kind of
um you know service connection issue but
the great thing is on va.gov there's so
much information as far as every type of
thing that's covered how you qualify how
you can apply
um you know the process the timelines
it's very very specific I literally was
just on it before we came on and it's
like man they actually did a great job
this time you know of putting it all
there and so that's great and I do hear
that sometimes that sometimes you know
the the VA is really good for for people
who use it in whatever way they use it
and then sometimes you know it might
fall a little bit short but that's where
Senior Care Advocates can come in and
help direct them to the care that they
might need or the resources that are
available because your whole world is is
researching resources and a lot of our
veterans are senior so uh they just call
that number there on the screen to get
in touch with you right there you go
okay that's the best number and uh and
just real quick if you've not if you're
out there and you just are having
struggles call because there's no cost
consultation but also if you're working
in the VA system find a social worker
it's the key to everything okay okay
the good information always brings good
information enlightening stuff we
appreciate it
According to the VA, “The PACT Act is perhaps the largest health care and benefits expansion in VA history.” This new law was signed on August 10, 2022. That being said, whether you believe you qualify or not, you want to understand what this new law can do for any veteran with toxic exposure during their military duty. Unfortunately, many veterans have already been denied for exposure due to Agent Orange, burn pits, airborne, and other toxic episodes. Finally, there is new hope. This new law changes the way the VA “presumes” eligibility and opens the door once again to the majority of veterans who were previously denied. More than twenty new presumptive conditions for Agent Orange, burn pits, and other toxic exposures have been added, removing the need to prove the condition is service-connected. This is long overdue!
Help us get the word out so these honorable servants can be properly awarded for their commitment and service.
Have questions? Call us at (559) 227-7322 for a free consultation. We’ll help you navigate the VA maze.
VA Benefits Hotline: (800) 827-1000
Overall explanation: https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits/
Help for survivors: https://www.va.gov/disability/dependency-indemnity-compensation/
Survivors pension: https://www.va.gov/pension/survivors-pension/
Save your date: https://www.va.gov/resources/your-intent-to-file-a-va-claim/
0:00 Emily Erwin
In the journey of life, it is so important to plan for all stages of your life and your loved one’s lives. What happens when you know it's not safe for your parents to drive or they need extra care or when your husband needs long-term care? Here to help us answer these questions and more is Mr. Gregory Steen. He is the Founder and CEO of Senior Care Advocates. Hello thanks for being here again. I always like this you know sometimes it's really good to sort of drive home a point and you get reminded of things so many times that you are forced into action. And that's what we're forcing people to do. To make a plan. So, we're talking about certain kinds of benefits that we can get through Senior Care Advocates and what are those?
0:45 Gregory Steen
So, the VA benefits are available to active duty and past active duty veterans. Problem is a lot of them just aren't aware of it, you know.
0:52 Emily Erwin
Right.
0:57 Gregory Steen
And um but there's you know there's great benefits. The one in particular that nobody seems to know about is called aid in attendance and it pays for in-home care, you know assisted living, skilled nursing… It provides lots of opportunities. People just don't know about it.
1:08 Emily Erwin
I didn't know about that either. My boyfriend was in the army for almost 15 years and I had no, I mean he's not quite that age yet, uh but I had no idea. So, how can we get this word out there to see if people qualify this for this sort of benefit and are there certain stipulations within the VA where you might qualify for something but not for something else?
1:33 Gregory Steen
Well, that's a loaded question. So absolutely yes, um but there's service connected and there's non-service connected. So, we have a real simple like a cheat sheet if you will that will help people know if they qualify or not. You can call us. We can email that to you and give it to you at no cost but mainly you need to be active duty during a period of conflict. So, if you were serving during Vietnam you don't have to actually have been in Vietnam but just during that period. And then as far as getting the word out I think this is, you know, thank you for making the time for us to do it. But we're doing all that we can to get the word out on new websites and different events that we're doing and trying to help people understand. Because you know these people have served our country. They're willing to give their life. You know, we owe them a huge debt of gratitude and so we're doing all that we can.
2:23 Emily Erwin
And sometimes the VA is a difficult thing to navigate and I've talked to so many people who have used it and some really like it and it serves them well. And other times it does not serve their purpose because it is a difficult thing to navigate. So how do how do people apply for these benefits and make sure that they are actually receiving things that they have earned?
2:45 Gregory Steen
So, there's about three different ways. One is you can do it yourself and we generally don't ever advise that. Second you can go to a local veteran’s service office. You know these are well-meaning people, they're trained, but they're so overwhelmed. It's really, really difficult to get through. The third is you can have somebody who's VA accredited help you and guide you. It seems to be a lot quicker, more efficient. The stress is on them not you. But I wanted to share something real quick just to kind of highlight what's going on. This is a news release from 2006. So, just a few days ago. And this is the VA basically putting out a press release saying hey there's this great benefit. It's underused and we're going to tell all the veterans about it. So, whenever I speak I always ask people how many of you got the memo? And everybody of course laughs and like yeah we never did. So, the VA isn't really great at getting the word out. They are great at other things. I'm glad to have them but.
3:44 Emily Erwin
Now could, you know, you talked about a Vietnam vet and you know they might be in a situation where maybe they've got somebody who's managing their care or their health care for them. Can we have family members tap into these resources for that veteran?
4:01 Gregory Steen
Absolutely, so the VA does have a program called a fiduciary that does exactly what you said. But the benefit is tax-free income and it's meant to help you get the best care that you need. So, if it's paying a family member, paying for their health services, or equipment or whatever it's there and the family has the ability to do everything they can for the benefit of the vet.
4:24 Emily Erwin
So, how did Senior Care Advocates come to be sort of an expert with VA benefits?
4:33 Gregory Steen
Boy, just through a lot of us doing this for our clients and going through trial and error and challenges and obstacles and learning best practices. Like anything else you do it long enough you learn how to kind of, you know, move quickly through things. But we also took some time, took 18 months, several years ago and did our due diligence with a attorney and a CPA VA accredited paralegal and sat down and said how can we help people because this has taken years in some cases. People are dying in the process and so we learned you know what the rules were, the regulations, and tried to put together something where people could have the help now.
5:12 Emily Erwin
Yeah well it's clearly a need if people are calling you asking for help. They don't know where else to turn because sometimes that is the case. If people do have a need they for some senior care, they're in crisis how can they get in touch with Senior Care Advocates?
5:22 Gregory Steen
So on the web or seniorcareadvocate.com our local number is 559-227-7322. We'll be at people's church on the 13th at 10 a.m. It's an open platform for people to get all this information but look us up, we're there.
5:40 Emily Erwin
Okay. Gregory Steen, thank you so much for being here. Always great information! Tap into the things that you have earned. We like that here. Thank you so much, thank you.
Read the complete transcript from this Central Valley Today clip:
0:00 Emily Erwin
You had this life-changing episode and then you said instant dementia. And then it was just like one day you have this life and then the next day it's completely different.
0:09 Gregory Steen
Well for a good while it was mom doing everything right, you know. And then in time we started realizing that okay now mom needs a break because about 30 percent of the caregivers go before the one they're caring for. Believe it or not. So we had to kind of have those talks and help understand, you know, some hard questions and it's very difficult and so that's part of the reason that we're here and why we do what we do. But I think the biggest thing to answer your question is just helping everybody get on the same page and understand what options are there.
Watch more on our YouTube Channel here.