Some have been denied, now there's outreach
Read more: Local, Community, Health, ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease, Veterans, Service Related Disablility, Service Connected, Presumptive Condition
Onondaga County's Veterans Service Agency is actively looking for veterans--from any service era--who suffer from ALS (formerly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease). Robert McLean says the vets are eligible for extra compensation, as are their survivors. He says his agency is doing an active outreach, and will even go to a vet's home to help fill out the necessary paperwork. In the past, some veterans with ALS symptoms were denied medical help, but McLean says that now, because research shows that a significantly higher number of service veterans have ALS, it has been reclassified a presumptive condition and is 'service connected'. McLean says the VA is going back and re-opening old files, and the County Veterans Service Agency is also working on retroactive cases.
For more on the additional benefits, the Veterans Service Agency is at 435-3217 or ongov.net\veterans
