02/23/2026
An unprecedented flood of outrage from veterans groups, lawmakers, and individual veterans led the Department of Veterans Affairs to reverse course Thursday on a controversial regulation that would have based disability ratings on how well veterans function while medicated, instead of considering the severity of the actual condition they suffer from.
It’s a victory for veterans and advocates who mounted a quick and decisive public campaign against the policy. VA Secretary Doug Collins announced the agency would halt enforcement of the rule just two days after it took effect. But the rule is still in place, and has yet to actually be rescinded. Comments are still open until Apr. 20, 2026.
Your Voice Still Matters: Don’t let your guard down, veterans. Make a comment in the Federal Register.
“While VA does not agree with the way this rule has been characterized, the department always takes Veterans’ concerns seriously,” Collins wrote in a statement posted to X. “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.”
The interim final rule was published Feb. 17 in the Federal Register, directing VA medical examiners to evaluate veterans based on their “actual level of functional impairment” while taking medication or receiving treatment. Under the policy, a veteran whose knee pain was managed by anti-inflammatories or whose PTSD symptoms were controlled by medication would be rated as less disabled than someone with the same underlying condition who remained untreated.
The rule took effect immediately upon publication, bypassing the standard 60-day Congressional review period and the typical public comment process that normally precedes major regulatory changes. But even this sneaky method of pushing the rule through still required a public comment period, and veterans let the VA know exactly what they thought of it.
A United Front
Within hours of the rule’s publication, major veterans service organizations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion, and Paralyzed Veterans of America, issued statements condemning the policy.
“No veteran should ever have to worry that taking medications they need due to their illnesses and injuries could result in the reduction of their benefits,” said Coleman Nee, DAV’s National Commander.
Medical professionals and advocates raised the alarm that veterans might choose to forgo treatment rather than risk lower disability ratings and reduced monthly compensation.
The regulation was designed to override a series of court rulings dating to 2012 that protected veterans’ disability ratings from being reduced based on medication effects. The most recent decision, Ingram v. Collins in 2025, held that VA examiners evaluating musculoskeletal conditions must determine “baseline severity” without factoring in medication.
In its Federal Register filing, the VA called the Ingram ruling an “erroneous interpretation” that would require re-adjudicating more than 350,000 pending claims across roughly 500 diagnostic codes. The agency estimated the court precedent would generate administrative costs and increase VA expenditures by more than $100 million annually, “based on a disability level that veterans are not actually experiencing.”
Basically, it means the VA didn’t like a federal judge’s ruling and decided to ignore the court, and go ahead with its planned policy anyway.
Collins initially took to X to defend the rule, calling criticism “fake news” and stating the policy “simply formalizes VA’s longstanding practice—since 1958… the rule will have no impact on any Veteran’s current disability rating.” His post got noted immediately and his defense did not slow the mounting pressure.
The Interim Final Rule Wasn’t Changed
Collins’ announcement on Thursday did not formally rescind the rule, but stated it would not be enforced “at any time in the future.” The VA will continue to accept public comments through April 20.
Veterans advocacy organizations praised the reversal while calling for formal withdrawal of the rule and renewed commitment to collaborative policy development.
“The nearly universal negative response from veterans shows that the VA did not fully consider the potentially harmful impacts of this decision,” said Carl Blake of Paralyzed Veterans of America. “We look forward to working with Secretary Collins and his leadership team to better understand their goals and to find ways to address their concerns while ensuring veterans’ well-being remains the top priority.”
The underlying legal issue remains unresolved. The Ingram case is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and that court’s ruling could affect how similar cases are handled in the future.
Existing disability ratings were not automatically changed by the brief rule, but veterans whose conditions are scheduled for reexamination or who file new claims should consult accredited veterans service organizations about their cases.
The VA’s quick reversal represents a rare acknowledgment of miscalculation by a federal agency (without actually admitting to a miscalculation) and underscores the political power veterans groups can still wield when they speak with a unified voice.
