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Articles
VA Compensation Reduction Formula
By USVCP Staff
June 14, 2018
There are several conditions where the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will propose a reduction in a veteran's service-connected a disability rating.
It is very important for all veterans to know that a proposal is not yet a decision, therefore, veterans have time to challenge the proposal to reduce their rating and to provide medical evidence as to why a rating should not be reduced at all, or not as much as VA proposes.
Many VSOs suggest that veterans not send the “Notice of Disagreement” form to "appeal" the proposal, as a veteran can only formally disagree with a decision or appeal an actual decision.
If a veteran asks for a personal hearing within 30 days of notification of a proposal to reduce their rating, the VA will not reduce the rating until the veteran has a chance to present appropriate evidence.
If the VA continues paying at a veterans’ current rate until a hearing has taken place (if necessary) and the veteran is not successful in convincing the VA not to reduce their rating, this may create an overpayment that the VA will definitely recoup from the veteran as soon as humanly possible.
For certain conditions, when a veteran gets a high rating on a disability, a VA decision letter will oftentimes indicate that "since there is likelihood of improvement, the rating is not considered permanent and is subject to future review."
