On Feb. 17, the Department of Veterans Affairs published an interim final rule that changes one deceptively simple question at the heart of disability exams. The VA’s answer will drastically lower disability compensation for millions of veterans, many of whom spent the last 20 years fighting two wars and an untold number of low-level conflicts.
Effective immediately, the VA will rate veterans based on how they function with medication and treatment, not based on how the condition actually affects them.
In a closed process without input from veterans, and flying in the face of multiple court rulings, the VA moved to modify the way the Department of Veterans Affairs interprets and implements ratings for veteran disabilities.
In “Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication,” published in the Federal Register, the VA writes:
“If medication or other treatment lessens the functional impairment a disability causes and thereby improves a veteran’s earning capacity, that is the proper disability level for which the veteran should be compensated.”
In effect, the VA will now evaluate disabilities for ratings not on the natural baseline of an ailment, but instead on the symptoms resulting from treatment and medication, even if a specific diagnostic code doesn’t mention medication.
If taking medications lowers a disability, the disability rating gets lowered along with it. This includes both new ratings and reevaluations of past ratings, and could reduce disability compensation for millions of veterans.
The new rule runs counter to at least two prior judicial rulings.
In 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruled in Jones vs Shinseki that unless the rating criteria specifically mentioned medication, the VA could not reduce a rating only because medication improved symptoms.
The Court’s 2025 decision in Ingram vs Collins extended the Jones decision to musculoskeletal conditions, and required examiners to attempt to determine a “baseline severity” if the veteran didn’t take medication.
Normally, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs would classify the VA’s new rule as “major rule” under the Congressional Review Act, because its estimated annual cost is more than $100 million. Major rules have to be submitted to Congress and the Government Accountability Office and can’t take effect until at least 60 days after submission.
But the VA claims it has good cause under 5 U.S.C. 808(2) to forgo the 60-day review and publish an interim final rule, meaning it takes effect immediately.
It also means there’s a public comment period, which is open from Feb. 17 through Apr. 20.
With an interim final rule, the VA must accept and review public comments. These comments become a matter of record that could be used in court.
