Over the past few months, the VA has proposed and adopted various rules that change how the department evaluates veterans’ disabilities. These changes can lead some veterans to see a reduction in their disability ratings following a reexamination, with a corresponding reduction in their VA benefits. How do disability rating reductions occur, and what can veterans do if they face a potential reduction of their rating and disability benefits?
How VA Disability Ratings Work
The VA uses disability ratings to grade the severity of a veteran’s service-connected condition. The VA’s Schedule for Rating Disabilities assigns specific ratings based on a condition’s symptoms or the limitations it causes. Ratings can range from 0 for asymptomatic conditions to 100 for the most severe symptoms. When a veteran has two or more service-connected conditions, the VA uses a formula to determine a combined disability rating based on the separate ratings for each condition. A veteran’s disability rating, along with the composition of their household, determines how much monthly compensation they receive from the VA and whether they qualify for other benefits, such as VA healthcare.
Why Does the VA Reduce Ratings?
The VA may reduce a veteran’s disability rating if it receives medical evidence showing an improvement in the veteran’s condition. The VA may ask a veteran receiving disability benefits to submit to a new compensation and pension (C&P) exam periodically. These exams may document an improvement in a veteran’s condition when compared to the existing medical record. Based on these findings, the VA may determine that a veteran’s condition should receive a lower disability rating.
Who Is Most Vulnerable to a Reduction?
Veterans who have received their disability rating within the last five or ten years face the highest risk of a reduction, as the VA may ask them to attend a new C&P exam that could reveal improvement in their symptoms or limitations caused by their service-connected condition. The VA may become more likely to reexamine veterans with conditions that may improve over time or with treatment, such as mental health conditions or musculoskeletal injuries.
Protected Ratings
After a certain amount of time, a veteran’s disability rating gains certain protection against reduction. The degree of this protection increases over time. The stages of protected ratings include:
- Five years: A veteran’s rating becomes “stabilized,” meaning that the VA must show that a veteran’s condition has sustained improvement over time, rather than a temporary reduction in symptoms.
- Ten years: The VA cannot revoke its finding of a service connection for a veteran’s condition, unless the veteran procured the finding through fraud.
- 20 years: A veteran who has maintained a disability rating continuously for 20 years cannot have their rating reduced below that level, unless the VA can show that the veteran secured their disability rating through fraud.
A veteran may also have a protected rating if the VA considers their disability “permanent and total.” A veteran has a “permanent and total” disability if they have a 100 percent disability rating for a condition that the VA does not expect to improve.
What Should You Do If You Face a Reduction
When the VA asks you to submit to a C&P reexamination, you should respond to correspondence and attend your scheduled exams. You can also gather medical documentation and other evidence showing that your condition has not improved. If the VA notifies you of a reduction of your disability rating, you should seek legal assistance promptly to help you pursue your options for contesting the reduction.
Contact Our VA Disability Benefits Lawyers Today
Changes in VA policies or periodic exams may result in a reduction in your disability rating and benefits. Contact Coskrey Law today for a free case evaluation with a VA disability benefits attorney to learn more about what happens when the VA reduces disability ratings and what you can do to protect your benefits.