VA Walks Back Rule That Could’ve Reduced Benefits For Disabled Vets

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on Thursday that it would be walking back a move that would tie financial benefits for disabled vets to the impact medicine has on treating their disability. 

According to the Washington Post, the VA announced the new rule last Monday and said it would be effective immediately. The rule would’ve required examiners to factor in how much medicine helps alleviate a vet’s disability when it comes to determining financial assistance. It would’ve made it easier for the VA to argue that the medicine makes a vet less disabled, therefore, they need less financial assistance. 

The announcement of the rule understandably drew criticism and confusion from several veterans organizations, including Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and VoteVets. “Disabled veterans should never be forced to choose between following their doctor’s orders and protecting their earned benefits,” VFW National Commander Carol Whitmore said in a statement. “This interim rule puts that stability at risk, and it must be withdrawn.”

Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy pilot running as a Democrat for Congress in New Jersey, said in a video posted on X that she had already received calls from several veterans who said they would stop taking their medication to ensure their financial stability wasn’t impacted. “They’re worried about their disability ratings getting impacted,” Bennett said in the video. “If you are diagnosed with cancer and you are getting chemotherapy, you still have cancer.”

Kristofer Goldsmith, an Army combat veteran and veterans advocate, piggybacked those concerns when speaking to CNN. “In the minds of some veterans, it’s worth suffering the full effects of PTSD or another illness, rather than put your family at a financial disadvantage,” Goldsmith said.

The rule came in response to a court ruling last year that ordered the VA to consider “baseline severity” without medication when it comes to distributing financial benefits. The rule called that ruling an “erroneous interpretation” and that it would lead to “an overall increase in compensation expenditures based on a disability level that veterans are not actually experiencing.”

VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins posted on X that while the rule will no longer be enforced, it is still open for public comment. “While VA does not agree with the way this rule has been characterized, the department always takes Veterans’ concerns seriously,” Collins wrote.

The VFW released a statement applauding the VFA for walking back the rule. “We are appreciative of the Secretary’s decision in hearing the message of the VFW, our partner organizations, and our nation’s veterans, family members, and survivors. VFW is eager to work with the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop an equitable resolution,” the VFW said in a statement to CNN.

The decision didn’t please everyone, though, as Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) has remained staunch in her criticism of the VA for even implementing the rule in the first place. 

“You’re backtracking because you know this new rule could hurt our heroes’ access to care, and Veterans across the country called you on your bullsh*t. If you take Veterans’ concerns seriously, you’d rescind the rule entirely,” Duckworth said on X.

It’s just bonkers to me that the VA is looking for ways to spend less on helping veterans deal with the impact their service has had on their physical and mental health. The United States has no problem asking young men and women to put their lives on the line and potentially witness horrors that will mentally scar them for life, but god forbid those same folks need help to deal with the trauma. 

While I’m glad the VA walked back the rule, the fact that they implemented it in the first place is not a good sign for how the VA will continue to operate under the Trump administration. 

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