The VA has proposed some pretty big changes to how it rates certain disabilities recently, and I’ve been talking to a lot of veterans about what that means for their current ratings. The bottom line is that federal law prevents the VA from using new rules to go back and cut existing benefits that veterans gained under the old rules, at least as long as your disability doesn’t improve and you don’t ask the VA for an increase.
The relevant law is 38 U.S.C. § 1155. This statute gives the VA authority to make and revise its rating tables. The relevant part of that statute for this video is that “The Secretary,” meaning the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, “shall from time to time readjust this schedule of ratings in accordance with experience. However, in no event shall such a readjustment in the rating schedule cause a veteran’s disability rating in effect on the effective date of the readjustment to be reduced.
That last part gets a little wordy, but let me go through it with an example. Let’s say a new rating schedule goes into effect on March 15. Anyone who got their current rating before March 15 will not be reduced because of the change in the regulations. There is also an unless we should talk about. So going back to the statute, it says the rating won’t be reduced “unless an improvement in the veteran’s disability is shown to have occurred.”
But that’s nothing new. The VA has always had the authority to reduce ratings if a veteran’s disability improves. Of course, there are some ratings the VA can’t reduce, and even for those they can, they have to follow a very specific process. If the VA starts the process to reduce your rating after it has changed the rating regulations, the VA has to prove a reduction was warranted under the old regulations. So even then, the VA cannot use a new regulation against you. But if the VA does prove a reduction is warranted, your new rating will come from the new rating criteria.
And I should add that if you file for an increase for that disability in the future, the VA will decide whether to grant your increase under the new ratings. That doesn’t mean you should never go for an increase after the VA has changed a rating schedule. It just means you have one more thing to think about when you’re weighing your options.
I hope I explained that clearly. If you would like me to help you with your disability claim, you can reach out to me through the links on this website.