Troops With Debilitating Cases of COVID-19, or Their Survivors, to Be Eligible for VA Disability Pay
A provision in the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 designates COVID-19 as a presumptive illness -- a descriptor that paves the way for affected service members or veterans who suffer long-term consequences of the virus to receive compensation and benefits. To be eligible for disability, the individual must have served on active duty for more than 48 hours at one time and developed the illness during service or within 14 days after the qualifying period of duty. The department has the ability to decide whether a veteran qualifies ...