Physician Assistant and prior C&P examiner Leah Bucholz discusses HIV in Veterans Disability.
Leah B. explores how HIV can be a service-connected disability for veterans. She highlights the VA's role as the largest provider of HIV care in the U.S., serving over 30,000 veterans, and emphasizes the prevalence of HIV among veterans, reservists, and active duty service members. Leah discusses primary and secondary service connections for HIV, where the primary connection relates to HIV contracted during service and the secondary involves post-service contraction linked to a service-related condition. She also addresses challenges in establishing service connections, especially differentiating between willful misconduct and conditions like substance abuse disorders linked to service-connected mental health issues. Leah further reviews the VA's disability ratings for HIV-related illnesses, ranging from asymptomatic cases to advanced AIDS with varying levels of disability compensation.