VA backs off rule that would have cut benefits amid outrage

By Brian Todd, CNN

(CNN) — The Department of Veterans Affairs is halting enforcement of a new rule for determining disability payments after veterans across the US expressed outrage for what they said would likely reduce benefits for many.

The rule said a veteran’s disability level would be based on how well they function while on medication for an injury or illness and not simply having the impairment itself.

For example, if a veteran has a service-related knee injury but medication they take helps them function better, that would be taken into account when determining how much they receive in benefits. It was published Tuesday in the Federal Register and was effective immediately.

“If medication or other treatment lessens the functional impairment a disability causes and thereby improves a veteran’s earning capacity, that is the proper disability level for which the veteran should be compensated,” the so-called interim rule states.

But the VA said Thursday it will halt enforcement of the rule after veterans quickly and loudly opposed it.

“While VA does not agree with the way this rule has been characterized, the department always takes Veterans’ concerns seriously. To alleviate these concerns, VA will continue to collect public comments regarding the rule, but it will not be enforced at any time in the future,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement on X.

Before the VA halted enforcement of the rule, the Veterans of Foreign Wars criticized it saying it risked penalizing those who follow doctors’ orders.

“VA’s disability compensation system exists to compensate veterans for the average impairment in earning capacity resulting from service-connected conditions,” said VFW National Commander Carol Whitmore in a Wednesday letter to the VA. “It should not penalize veterans for seeking treatment.”

A former Navy helicopter pilot running for Congress as a Democrat in New Jersey called the rule “insane” and said she has already been contacted by veterans who told her they would stop taking their medication.

“They’re worried about their disability ratings getting impacted,” Rebecca Bennett said in a video posted on X. “If you are diagnosed with cancer and you are getting chemotherapy, you still have cancer.”

The VA’s rating system is on a scale up to 100%, based on the combined severity of the veteran’s injuries and illnesses. The higher the disability rating a veteran has, the more compensation they receive from the VA.

VA’s halt of enforcement for the rule was still met with cynicism by one prominent veteran in Congress.

Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth – a combat-wounded veteran, former VA Assistant Secretary and currently a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee – addressed Collins on X shortly after the VA walked back enforcement of the rule.

“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.

Beyond criticism, the rule seemed to attract confusion as well.

Both Collins and VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz said earlier the new rule would “have no impact on any Veteran’s current disability rating,” indicating that veterans who have received disability payments before the rule was imposed would continue to have disability ratings that do not take the effects of medication into account.

Kristofer Goldsmith, an Army combat veteran who often advocates publicly for veterans and has been a critic of the VA under the Trump administration, told CNN before the VA halted enforcement that he was worried about veterans who take medication for mental health illnesses, like PTSD, possibly ceasing their meds.

“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 counters three court rulings which said the VA could not reduce disability ratings based on the effects of medication. In its Federal Register filing, the VA says the most recent of those court rulings, the 2025 case “Ingram vs. Collins,” was an “erroneous interpretation” of regulations, which would generate high administrative costs, create delays in delivering benefits,” and “cause an overall increase in compensation expenditures based on a disability level that veterans are not actually experiencing.”

The VA was already facing legal action over the rule. A lawsuit, filed Wednesday by the Arizona-based Stone Rose Law Firm and the MilVet Law Firm in Washington state, which both represent hundreds of veterans in disability cases, asks a federal appeals court to vacate the new rule saying it “results in financial harm to our clients.”

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