NVBDC is proud to welcome Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC as the newest member of its Military & Veteran Organization

From Rep. Mike Levin, the bill is meant to help veterans who are still awaiting their disability rating or service members still in the transition process.

First, the VA can now take medication into account when rating a disability. For example, tinnitus, or ear ringing, is one of the most common conditions for which the VA assigns a disability rating. Under the new rule, if the VA says aspirin or painkillers reduce your tinnitus, they can lower your rating or refuse to rate it at all.

VA disability compensation is paid to veterans whose injuries or illnesses were caused or worsened by military service.

Veterans groups said the rule is an “abrupt shift” and was “issued in a closed and unnecessarily expedited process.”

VA is proposing major changes to disability ratings for sleep apnea, tinnitus, and mental health, shifting away from device based formulas and toward functional impairment.

Veterans with disabilities are exempt from VA home loan funding fees only if a disability rating is issued before loan closing.

The new rule states that a disability level must be based on how well a veteran functions while on medication and not on the underlying impairment.

A Vietnam veteran has filed suit over a VA rule that requires medical examiners to factor in a medication's effects when determining a disability rating.