Commander LaCoursiere urges VA to adopt non-invasive lung imaging technology Call addresses American Legion concerns over delays in detection and treatment of deployment-related respiratory diseases.
American Legion National Commander James LaCoursiere sent a letter to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough on Oct. 21 to address The American Legion’s concerns on delays in detecting and treating for a variety of respiratory diseases under the PACT Act. Here is LaCoursiere’s letter:
I write today regarding the ongoing implementation of The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022. While there has been progress in the processing of PACT Act-related claims, we are concerned about the delays in triaging the influx of PACT veterans coming to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) for treatment. As the law celebrates its second anniversary, it is our hope that VA will immediately expand pilots or adopt non-invasive lung imaging technologies to screen for service-connected respiratory diseases.
Our concern lies in the delay in detecting and treating for a variety of deployment-related respiratory diseases (DRRDs), the term used for veterans suffering from respiratory issues due to exposure to burn pits and other service-connected respiratory diseases. The lack of existing evaluation protocols for DRRD-related symptoms significantly limits the VA’s ability to treat these veterans. The VA has acknowledged the difficulties in identifying cases of the particularly concerning DRRD, “Constrictive Bronchiolitis” (CB), and creating an appropriate diagnostic code. CB, also known as Obliterative Bronchiolitis, is one of the original 23 conditions covered by the PACT Act. CB remains difficult to diagnose without painful lung biopsies. Without advanced imaging these biopsies can target the wrong areas, present false negatives, delay diagnosis and treatment, and negatively impact veterans’ health outcomes. The proposed advanced imaging technology has an estimated cost of $300 while requiring 30 minutes of the veteran’s time, and provides patients and clinicians with actionable data when deciding if a biopsy is appropriate, without requiring additional instruments at the VA. The VA has had over a year to pilot the program, starting the pilot in Columbus Ohio’s Truman Memorial VHA […]
Commander LaCoursiere urges VA to adopt non-invasive lung imaging technology
