Overview
- The interim final rule, issued Feb. 17, directed examiners to base disability ratings on veterans’ functioning while on prescribed medication rather than on untreated severity.
- VA Secretary Doug Collins said the department will not enforce the rule at any time in the future in response to warnings from major veterans groups that it could reduce compensation and deter treatment.
- The regulation remains on the books during the comment period, and more than 10,000 submissions poured in within roughly two days as advocates pressed for reversal or revisions.
- At least one lawsuit was filed seeking to vacate the rule, which VA framed as a clarification following court decisions such as Jones v. Shinseki (2012) and Ingram v. Collins (2025).
- In its Federal Register notice, VA cited potential readjudication of about 350,000 claims and an economic impact around $100 million annually as reasons for acting quickly.