VA Adds Parkinson’s Disease to Camp Lejeune Family Member Program
The Department of Veterans Affairs has added Parkinson’s Disease to a list of conditions covered under the Camp Lejeune Family Member Program.
This means that military spouses and dependents who lived at the Marine Corps base exposed to contaminated drinking water there from August 1, 1953 to December 31, 1987, may qualify for VA reimbursement for costs related to the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease.
VA.gov notes, “For your clinical eligibility determination, Medical records must be sent in,” and those records must indicate both “the date of onset of any condition that you are claiming under this program” and that you are “currently receiving treatment from your physician for this condition.”
Related: Veteran and Retiree Military Benefits Guide
What is the VA Camp Lejeune Family Member Program?
The VA official site describes the Camp Lejeune Family Member Program as a VA option for military family members who are “potentially exposed to drinking water contaminated with industrial solvents, benzene, and other chemicals” at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
The PACT Act requires the Department of Veterans Affairs “to provide health care to Veterans who served on active duty at Camp Lejeune and to reimburse eligible Camp Lejeune Family Members (CLFM) for eligible health care costs related to one or more of 15 specified illnesses or conditions” including the following:
- Bladder cancer
- Breast cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Female infertility
- Hepatic steatosis
- Kidney cancer
- Leukemia
- Lung cancer
- Miscarriage
- Multiple myeloma
- Myelodysplastic syndromes
- Neurobehavioral effects including Parkinson’s Disease
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Renal toxicity
- Scleroderma
Military family members, including spouses, children, and “those in utero” stationed at Camp Lejeune, according to VA.gov, should expect a VA representative to work with them “to clarify what additional documentation” may be required to determine your eligibility for VA compensation. But some may not have been contacted at press time. If you have not been contacted, contact the VA using the information provided below.
How To Apply for the Camp Lejeune Family Member Program
Like other VA claims, the Department of Veterans Affairs requires you to provide proof you “were both a legal dependent of the Veteran and that you were a resident at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between the dates of August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987.”
You can use the following documentation as part of your application:
- marriage certificate
- birth certificate
- adoption papers
- military orders
- base housing records
- utility bill
- pay stub
- tax forms
You must complete a formal application and submit any documentation to the VA for review. Submit the form electronically or mail it to:
Department of Veterans Affairs
Financial Services Center
PO Box 149200
Austin, TX 78714-9200
Telephone: 1-866-372-1144
Visit the VA official site to fill out the family member application.
Related: Veteran and Retiree Military Benefits Guide
About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
