In February 2026, the VA quietly changed how disability ratings are calculated — if your medication controls your symptoms, your rating could be cut. After 20,880 public comments, they announced a 'rescission.' But the fine print says the legal fight is not over. Here is exactly what happened, what was actually rescinded, and what is still at risk — straight from the Federal Register.
The original VA Medication Rule (Federal Register document 2026-03068) is still open for public comment until April 20, 2026. Even though the rule was rescinded, the VA is still accepting comments — and those comments become part of the official legal record. Over 20,880 veterans and advocates have already submitted comments. Yours can still count. See below for step-by-step instructions on how to submit.
On February 17, 2026, the Department of Veterans Affairs published a new rule in the Federal Register that changed how disability ratings work. The rule said: if your medication is controlling your symptoms, your disability rating should be based on how you feel with the medication — not on how bad your condition actually is. In plain English: if your medication is working, the VA could lower your rating. For a veteran with severe PTSD or chronic pain who is managing their condition with medication, this could mean thousands of dollars less per month in disability compensation.
Ten days later, after an extraordinary public backlash — 20,880 comments were submitted to the federal docket in less than two weeks — VA Secretary Douglas Collins announced the rule was being 'rescinded.' The announcement was widely reported as a victory for veterans. But the rescission notice contains language that veterans advocates say leaves the door wide open for the same change to return through the courts or a future rulemaking.
The original rule, published at 91 FR 7118 on February 17, 2026, amended 38 CFR § 4.10 — the section of the VA's disability rating schedule that governs how functional impairment is evaluated. The VA added two new sentences to the regulation. Here is the exact text that was added:
"To ensure that disability evaluations are based on the actual level of functional impairment under the ordinary conditions of daily life, the medical examiner will not estimate or discount improvements to the disability due to the effects of medication or treatment, whether or not medication or treatment is included within specific rating criteria. If medication or treatment lowers the level of disability, the rating will be based on that lowered disability level."
— 38 CFR § 4.10 as amended by VA Interim Final Rule, 91 FR 7118 (February 17, 2026) ↗
That second sentence is the critical one: 'If medication or treatment lowers the level of disability, the rating will be based on that lowered disability level.' This is a direct reversal of how disability ratings have worked for decades. Under the old system — and under the court ruling the VA was trying to override — if your medication was controlling your symptoms, the VA was required to consider what your disability would look like without the medication. The new rule said the opposite: only look at how you are doing right now, with the medication.
The VA justified the rule by citing a March 2025 court decision: Ingram v. Collins, 38 Vet. App. 130 (2025). In that case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruled that when evaluating a veteran's musculoskeletal disability, VA examiners must estimate what the disability would look like without medication — the 'baseline severity' — and base the rating on that hypothetical level, not the medicated level. The VA argued this was wrong, calling it 'an unquantifiable, hypothetical, and unwarranted standard.'
The VA's concern was not entirely without basis. The Ingram ruling, if applied broadly, would require VA examiners to speculate about what a veteran's condition would be like without medication — something that is genuinely difficult to quantify. The VA said this could affect over 500 diagnostic codes and require re-adjudication of over 350,000 currently pending claims. The rule was classified as 'economically significant' because it was expected to affect more than $100 million per year in compensation.
| What the Court Said (Ingram) | What the VA Rule Said |
|---|---|
| Rate the disability based on its 'baseline severity' — what it would be without medication | Rate the disability based on actual current function — including the effects of medication |
| If the record doesn't show baseline severity, send the claim back for more info | Do not estimate or discount the ameliorative effects of medication |
| Applied to musculoskeletal conditions under specific diagnostic codes | Applied broadly to all disabilities under 38 CFR § 4.10 |
Veterans advocates immediately recognized what the rule would mean in practice. A veteran with PTSD whose antidepressants are keeping them functional could have their rating reduced from 70% to 30% — a difference of roughly $1,500 per month in tax-free compensation. A veteran with chronic pain from a service-connected injury who takes daily medication to manage it could face the same reduction. The rule was published as an 'interim final rule' — meaning it took effect immediately on February 17, 2026, with no prior public comment period.
On February 27, 2026 — ten days after the original rule — VA Secretary Collins published a rescission notice in the Federal Register (91 FR 9712). The rescission restored the old regulatory text of § 4.10, removing the two sentences that had been added. On the surface, this looks like a complete reversal. But the rescission notice contains a sentence that veterans advocates say is the most important part of the entire document:
"This action does not resolve the legal questions now before the courts; it simply restores prior regulatory text to maintain stability."
— VA Rescission Notice, 91 FR 9712 (February 27, 2026) ↗
Read that carefully. The VA is not saying the original rule was wrong. It is not saying the court in Ingram was right. It is saying: the legal question of whether medication should reduce disability ratings is still unresolved, and we are stepping back to 'maintain stability' while that question plays out. The Ingram case is still active in the courts. The VA has not withdrawn its legal argument that medication effects should be considered in ratings.
The public comment period on the original VA Medication Rule closes April 20, 2026. Here is exactly how to submit a comment in under 5 minutes:
Your comment becomes part of the permanent federal record. If the VA tries to issue a similar rule in the future, every comment submitted now must be addressed in the new rulemaking. This is one of the most direct ways a veteran can influence federal policy.