A deeply technical but consequential change in how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) calculates disability ratings has ignited confusion, concern, and controversy among veterans, advocates, and benefits professionals nationwide.

The rule, “Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication,” which amends 38 C.F.R. § 4.10, was published Feb. 17 in the Federal Register and immediately changed how disability compensation ratings are determined by directing VA examiners. Under the new rule, examiners would have to rate a veteran’s disability based on how well they function while taking medication, rather than the severity of the underlying condition itself.

However, after outcry from veterans and advocates, VA Secretary Doug Collins announced it would stop enforcing the new rule and provide a comment period, which will remain open through April 20. So far, more than 10,000 comments have been submitted.

Disability-Rating Methodology

The disability-rating methodology directly affects veterans’ monthly benefits, which are worth billions of dollars annually. Even technical shifts in rating criteria can have real financial and legal consequences for service-connected veterans, particularly those relying on compensation for mental health conditions, chronic pain, and mobility impairments. Rating disabilities based on symptoms after treatment rather than the severity of the service-connected condition itself could result in lower ratings for veterans whose symptoms are only manageable through aggressive medication, therapy, or invasive treatment. It also incentivizes veterans to go without treatment prior to examination.

Money-Saving Move?

What makes this new rule particularly alarming is that the agency did not appear to invoke emergency rulemaking to protect veterans. It did so in an effort to avoid re-adjudicating over 350,000 pending claims across more than 500 diagnostic codes — a workload created by federal courts correctly ruling in veterans’ favor. The VA’s economists estimated the rule would save the agency $1.9 billion in 2026 alone. In a claims system that veterans already experience as slow, adversarial, and indifferent to their actual needs, a rule engineered around institutional cost savings rather than veteran welfare could have truly disastrous consequences for the people it is supposed to serve.

Shining a Spotlight on a Problem

Whether or not this rule ultimately takes effect, it shines a spotlight on a long-existing problem: veterans regularly receive disability ratings that fall short of what their conditions require. Ratings get suppressed at the initial claim stage. They get reduced at reexamination. Compensation and pension exams produce a single snapshot that often fails to capture how a service-connected condition affects your daily life, your ability to work, and your long-term health.

For servicemembers still on active duty and processing through the Disability Evaluation System, the consequences are even more immediate. A rating determination during that process can mean the difference between qualifying for military medical retirement with lifetime benefits and leaving service with a one-time severance payment and no ongoing support.

It’s Not the End of the Road

The good news is that a low or inadequate rating is not the end of the road. Veterans have the right to appeal VA rating decisions, and the process, while complex, can produce significantly better outcomes with experienced representation.

Depending on where you are in the process, options include filing a Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence, requesting a Higher-Level Review, or appealing directly to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. For servicemembers in the IDES pipeline, there are formal opportunities to challenge Medical Evaluation Board findings and Physical Evaluation Board determinations before they become final. At every stage, the quality of your legal representation directly affects the outcome.

Tully Rinckey’s military law practice group consists of veterans who operate the most robust military law practice group in the country. We understand the system from the inside, and we bring that experience to every case we handle, whether it is a first-time VA disability claim, a rating appeal, an IDES proceeding, or a fight to secure the medical retirement a servicemember has earned. If your rating does not reflect your condition, or if you are not sure where to start, contact our office today. You served — let us fight for what you are owed.

If you have questions or concerns about veteran-related benefits matters, and specifically, the new rule, “Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication,” and how it may affect you or a loved one, our team of attorneys is available to assist you today. Please call 8885294543 to schedule a consultation or schedule a consultation online.

Ira Rushing, an Associate in Tully Rinckey’s Mississippi office, focuses much of his time on the representation of military personnel and federal agents and employees, as well as private employers and non-profit corporations. Ira’s practice areas include military law, national security representation, veterans’ benefits, and labor and employment. In addition to his legal experience, Ira is certified in process improvement methods and has extensive project management and leadership experience throughout over 20 years of service in both the U.S. Marine Corps and Army National Guard.