I am writing to express my concerns about the treatment of ALS as a service-connected disability by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Specifically, I am concerned that because the symptoms of ALS must be documented within one year of discharge in order to qualify as service-connected, access to needed VA benefits that come with service-connected status is denied to veterans who have dedicated their lives to serving our country.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurological disease that destroys a person’s ability to control muscle movement. As the disease progresses, people with ALS no longer are able to walk, talk or even breathe. They become prisoners, trapped inside a body they no longer can control. The disease is always fatal, in an average of two to five years following diagnosis, and we do not have an effective treatment for the disease, nor a cure. Although we do not yet know a cause, we do know that ALS occurs at a greater rate in people who have served in the military.
Studies conducted by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have found that Gulf War veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS as those who did not serve in the war. Moreover, a study conducted by researchers at Harvard University found that people with any history of military service, from World War II to Vietnam, are approximately 60% more likely to die from ALS than those who did not serve in the military. And, according to the latest statistics from the VA ALS Registry, we are seeing the disease in veterans who have served in the military since the start of the current conflict in Iraq.
Despite this evidence, ALS is not presumed to be a service-connected disease. Although ALS may be considered service-connected for those who served in the SW Asia Theater of Operations between August 2, 1990 and July 31, 1991, other veterans with ALS are not granted service-connected status even though studies have shown elevated rates of the disease in veterans regardless of when or where they served.
Those of us in the ALS community believe that the disease should be considered service-connected regardless of whether the diagnosis or symptoms of ALS are present within one year of discharge and regardless of when or where a veteran served in the military. Therefore, I urge you to support making ALS a service-connected disease. Moreover, I ask that you contact the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to request that the VA review the concerns raised by those of us in the ALS community and take the steps necessary to ensure that veterans with ALS have access to the VA benefits that meet their needs.
I appreciate your consideration of my concerns and look forward to hearing from you and working with your office in support of veterans with ALS.