The VA Adds an Extra Check to 5 Agent Orange Illnesses — Vietnam Veterans

Five Agent Orange illnesses can leave a loss the VA pays extra for, on top of your rating: Special Monthly Compensation, level K. The LOSS pays it, not the diagnosis. In 2026 it's $139.87 a month ($1,678.44 a year), added at any rating from 0% to 100%. Figures: VA rates effective Dec 1, 2025. THE RULE. 38 CFR 3.350(a): level K is paid for each loss or loss of use of a hand, a foot, one or more creative organs, complete organic aphonia and a few others, "in addition to the basic rate." At 30%, $552.47 becomes $692.34 a month; at 100%, $3,938.58 becomes $4,078.45. These five are presumptive, and what a service-connected disease causes is service-connected too (38 CFR 3.310). THE FOOTNOTE. The rating schedule lines for a total laryngectomy (DC 6518), erectile dysfunction (DC 7522, rated 0%), removal of the testicles (DC 7524) and removal of the ovaries (DC 7619) all carry the same footnote: "Review for entitlement to special monthly compensation under § 3.350." It means review, not a promise of payment. 1. TYPE 2 DIABETES. Loss of USE of a foot counts without an amputation: "no effective function remains other than that which would be equally well served by an amputation stump." A high bar. 2. PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND PARKINSONISM. Rated at a minimum of 30% (DC 8004). The rater also weighs loss of use of one or more extremities; that can change over time. 3. CANCER OF THE LARYNX (a respiratory cancer on the list). A total laryngectomy (surgery to remove the whole voice box) is rated 100%, and the loss it points at is complete organic aphonia. Many men talk again with a valve or device; files vary. 4. BLADDER CANCER. A radical cystectomy removes the bladder and, in men, the prostate and seminal vesicles; in women, the uterus, the ovaries and part of the vagina (National Cancer Institute). For a woman veteran, the acquired absence of the ovaries is the loss. Cancer surgery advised on sound medical judgment is not "elective" (38 CFR 3.350(a)(1)(iii)). 5. PROSTATE CANCER. Three routes: impotence after surgery, impotence after radiation, and an orchiectomy (surgery to remove one or both testicles). All three are loss or loss of use of a creative organ, and "one or more creative organs" makes ONE award, not three. A second award needs a different kind of loss (example: prostate cancer plus diabetes that took the use of a foot = two awards, $279.74 a month). The VA's rate page says you may receive 1 to 3 level K awards; three is the most, not the usual. CHECK YOUR OWN FILE. In your rating decision, look under each illness for removal, loss of use, amputation, loss of speech (aphonia) or erectile dysfunction, even at 0%, then for the letter K. A loss with no K is the question for a free accredited Veterans Service Officer (county office, DAV, VFW, American Legion). SOURCES VA Agent Orange presumptive list: https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibi... VA special monthly compensation rates: https://www.va.gov/disability/compens... VA disability compensation rates: https://www.va.gov/disability/compens... 38 CFR 3.350: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38... 38 CFR 3.309: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38... 38 CFR 3.310: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38... 38 CFR 4.97 (DC 6518, 6519): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38... 38 CFR 4.115b (DC 7522, 7524): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38... 38 CFR 4.116 (DC 7619): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38... 38 CFR 4.124a (DC 8004): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38... NCI, prostate cancer treatment: https://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate... NCI, bladder cancer treatment: https://www.cancer.gov/types/bladder/... NCI, laryngeal cancer treatment: https://www.cancer.gov/types/head-and... Free accredited help: https://www.va.gov/get-help-from-accr... This channel is non-partisan and is not affiliated with the VA or any government agency. Subscribe for more plain-English VA breakdowns. This video is for education only, not financial, legal, or benefits advice. Your situation is your own, so before you act on anything here, talk to a licensed professional or an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO). They're free and they work for you. I use AI tools to help research and produce these videos. Every script is reviewed and approved by me before it goes up, and the official sources are linked above so you can verify everything yourself. Got a question or a topic you want covered? Drop a comment. I read all of them.