Historically, the VA has assessed veterans’ disability in benefits applications at their baseline level, ensuring that veterans receive compensation based on the underlying nature of their disability. However, recent proposed changes to VA rules could have made it easier for the VA to reduce or deny disability benefits even for veterans with documented conditions. Specifically, the VA proposed to evaluate veterans’ disabilities through the lens of how a veteran’s medication or therapy alleviates the symptoms of that disability, rather than the baseline symptoms without the effects of medication. Although VA leadership has put these rule changes on hold, they could drastically change the availability or amount of disability compensation for veterans if they eventually go into effect.
What the Rule Changed
The VA has previously required claims reviewers, when rating a veteran’s disability under diagnostic criteria, to consider what symptoms a veteran would experience from their condition without the benefits of medication, unless the diagnostic criteria expressly consider the effect of medication. However, the VA’s new rule – “Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication” – would require claims reviewers to rate a veteran’s disability based on how their symptoms present with medication or other treatment, rather than the unmedicated baseline.
This rule could have an outsized effect on veterans with service-connected conditions that typically have medications to treat or manage symptoms, such as mental health conditions (e.g., depression, PTSD, etc.) or chronic pain.
Why Did the VA Implement the Rule?
The VA implemented the new rule in response to a pending VA disability benefits case, Ingram v. Collins, in which the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims – a federal court that hears cases challenging administrative decisions made by the VA – ruled that, under longstanding case law, the VA could not give a lower disability rating to a veteran who took medication that treated their condition or managed its symptoms. While appealing the CAVC’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the VA also issued Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication as an interim final rule, arguing that the rule was necessary to correct the courts’ interpretation of the agency’s regulations.
The VA’s Reversal
Within two weeks of issuing the interim final rule, the VA halted enforcement and formally rescinded the rule in response to substantial backlash from disability compensation recipients, veterans’ advocacy groups, and the public. The VA later dismissed its appeal to the Federal Circuit in the Ingram case, allowing the CAVC’s ruling to stand.
What the Rule Could Mean for Your Claim
Although the VA has currently halted efforts to codify rules that would require claims reviewers to rate a veteran’s disability based on their medicated status, the department may resume those efforts in the future if a different political climate would make implementing those changes more palatable. A rule that requires examiners to assess a veteran’s disability symptoms with the effects of medication or other treatment could potentially reduce financial compensation to veterans who have chronic health conditions caused by their military service simply because those veterans have chosen to undertake treatment to alleviate the debilitating effects of their condition’s symptoms.
Contact Our VA Disability Benefits Firm Today for Guidance
If you take medication or undergo treatment to lessen the symptoms of a service-connected medical condition, potential changes to VA rules may affect your right to disability benefits. Contact Coskrey Law today for a free consultation with a VA disability benefits attorney to learn more about possible rule changes and how they may affect your rights to compensation for service-connected conditions.