VA Announces Major Changes to Disability Rating Policy
UPDATE: 2/23/0226 The Department of Veterans Affairs has reversed course on new disability ratings policy (see below), in an attempt to save face after what Task and Purpose called “ferocious pushback to the rule from a wide spectrum of veterans service organizations, including traditional groups like the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars along with newer organizations like Burn Pits 360 and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.”
Thoughtful readers will note that VA Secretary Doug Collins announced on Thursday that, according to Task and Purpose, “the agency is ‘halting enforcement’ of the rule after introducing it with no public notice just two days before.” Collins did NOT promise to rescind the rule altogether.
Also, the public comment opportunity to respond to the VA’s rule has not been cancelled. This leaves the option open for Doug Collins to reinstate the rule at any time in the future. This is an ongoing story.
Task and Purpose notes that veteran advocacy groups want the rule to be formally rescinded. “Rosie Torres, co-founder of Burn Pits 360, said her group is calling on the VA to formally withdraw the rule and take other steps, including allowing for “full public, clinical, and veteran community input.”
VA Announces Major Changes to Disability Rating Policy
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published an interim final rule on February 17, 2026, changing the procedure for assigning VA disability ratings.
This rule moves the VA from what are known as “unmedicated” baseline disability assessments to evaluations based on “actual functional impairment” while a veteran is under a prescribed treatment plan. While that may sound like a technical detail to some, the changes this rule would bring are dramatic.
The VA seems to want to assign disability ratings AFTER medication rather than assessing a medical condition BEFORE treatment, as it has traditionally done.
Under the previous interpretation of existing federal law, the VA typically rated medical conditions submitted in VA disability claims based on their underlying severity. As mentioned above, this was done without considering the effects of symptom-suppressing medication.
Under the VA’s new rule, if a treatment successfully manages or masks symptoms, the disability rating must reflect that medicated state. The scope of this new rule is broad, affecting over 500 diagnostic codes within the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities.
Modernization?
The VA appears confident it can justify this change by labelling it a “modernization effort” and claiming that evaluating a veteran in a hypothetical, untreated state leads to inconsistent ratings and “excess compensation” for symptoms that are not actively present.
By focusing on the “treated” state, the VA claims it can standardize evaluations in the disability claims process. This rule and procedural change would apply to all VA disability claims pending or filed as of the implementation date, as well as routine future examinations for existing recipients.
Is this what VA Secretary Doug Collins calls “putting veterans first“? When Collins took over the office in 2024, one of his first VA Secretary Blog posts focused on this, but many of the VA’s choices since then have been far from veteran-friendly.
Why the VA Rule Change Matters
For households with multiple dependents, this change affects the eligibility thresholds for various secondary benefits.
Current VA policy requires a minimum disability rating of 30% to qualify for additional monthly allowances for a spouse, children, or dependent parents. If a re-evaluation under the new “medicated” standard results in a rating drop below this 30% mark, the dependent allowance is removed from the monthly payment.
Similarly, eligibility for CHAMPVA health insurance and Chapter 35 educational assistance is generally contingent on a veteran maintaining a 100% permanent and total disability rating.
Many pharmaceuticals used to manage service-connected conditions, such as those for mental health, neurological disorders, or respiratory issues, can cause secondary impairments, including lethargy, cognitive “fog,” or metabolic changes.
Under the new rule, the primary condition may be rated lower due to “successful” suppression, while the resulting side effects may not be fully captured in the primary rating.
Sidestepping the Courts?
This interim final rule also serves as a regulatory response to judicial activity.
Federal courts, most recently in the 2025 case Ingram v. Collins, found the VA could not reduce ratings based on medication use unless the specific diagnostic code explicitly allowed for it.
By enacting this as an interim final rule, has the VA tried to bypass those court precedents? This administrative maneuver allows the change to take effect immediately while simultaneously opening a 60-day public comment period on the new policy, which expires on April 20, 2026. This is a developing story.
About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
