Final signature count: 34

34 signatures toward our 30,000 goal

The Department of Veterans Affairs has put a new rule into effect — one that directs disability raters to evaluate a veteran's symptoms as they appear during an exam, including while the veteran is actively taking prescribed medication.^2,4 For veterans whose medication keeps their condition under control, that produces exam results that look far less severe than the reality of life without treatment. The condition itself has not changed. The rating has.  

The damage done in service does not disappear because a prescription helps someone get through the day. But under this rule, a veteran who responsibly follows their doctor's orders can end up with a lower disability rating than one who does not.¹ That is not a measurement of disability. It is a penalty for compliance.

Veterans Caught in an Impossible Position

The fallout was immediate. Veterans, advocates, and VA staff alike were left uncertain how the rule would be applied — and some veterans began weighing whether to stop taking their medications before disability exams.² That is the corner this policy backed people into: a choice between physical health and financial stability. No one who served this country should face that calculation.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars moved quickly to raise formal objections, warning that the rule created a system in which diligent medication use works against a veteran's own rating.¹ The concern was not hypothetical. It was a direct consequence of how the rule was written.

The VA Announced Rescission — But the Work Isn't Done

Facing sustained opposition from veterans service organizations and broad public criticism, the VA announced it would formally rescind the rule.³ That commitment matters. But a rescission announcement is not the same as a completed rescission. Until new guidance is in place and applied consistently across the entire claims system, veterans remain exposed to a process that does not accurately reflect their circumstances.^3,4 

The urgency has not passed.

What Disability Compensation Is For

Disability compensation exists to account for the lasting impact of service-connected injuries and illnesses on a veteran's life. A rating framework that discounts that impact because treatment is working has the premise exactly backwards. The underlying harm — earned through service — is still there. The prescription is managing it, not erasing it.

Veterans earned their benefits through sacrifice. They deserve a system that evaluates the condition they carry, not the effectiveness of the medication keeping it in check. Ratings built on medicated exams do not reflect the truth of a veteran's life. They reflect a policy failure that must be fully corrected — not just announced.

Sign the petition now and tell the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that disability ratings reflect the true severity of service-connected conditions — no matter what treatment a veteran is on.