The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking public feedback via the Federal Register for two proposed policy changes relating to disability rating schedules.
On Feb. 15, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it had submitted two proposals to the Federal Register potentially modernizing how the department evaluates veterans’ service-connected respiratory and auditory illnesses and mental disorders.
Examples of the proposed changes include classifying tinnitus as a symptom of another, possibly more serious ailment as opposed to an illness itself as well as “evaluating mental health conditions based on a more robust and holistic approach that assesses how impactful the disability is to cognition, interpersonal relationships, task completion, life activities and self-care.”
An accompanying post on the VA’s VAntage Point blog notes, “respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the proposed rules would slightly lower the requirements for a 100% rating.
Should the proposed changes be accepted in their current form, veterans who have previously been given a rating for either health issue would not have their status revoked or altered. However, eligible veterans would be able to reapply for additional compensation.
Readers can click the following links to see the full list of changes for the respective ailments and comment on or before April 18, 2022:
- Federal Register: Schedule for Rating Disabilities-Ear, Nose, Throat, and Audiology Disabilities
- Federal Register: Schedule for Rating Disabilities: Mental Disorders
VAntage Point says nine other rating disabilities schedules have been updated since 2017.
Currently, it is not clear how many veterans would be impacted by the changes should they be made official.
Readers can contact The American Legion for free help with VA benefits.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.