1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose the Department of Veterans Affairs' Interim Final Rule that would allow the VA to reduce disability compensation ratings for veterans who take medications to control their conditions or reduce their symptoms. This regulation threatens the financial security of more than 6 million veterans currently receiving disability compensation, most of whom rely on at least one medication to manage their service-connected disabilities. This rule represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how disability compensation should work. Veterans take medication because their conditions require ongoing treatment, not because they are cured. A veteran with diabetes still has diabetes whether they take insulin or not. A veteran with PTSD still has PTSD whether they take medication or not. Penalizing veterans for responsibly managing their health conditions with prescribed medications creates a perverse incentive that could lead to worse health outcomes. The Disabled American Veterans organization has expressed extreme alarm about this policy change, noting that it disregards clear decisions from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, specifically Jones v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 56 (2012) and Ingram v. Collins, 38 Vet. App. 130 (2025). The rule was developed through a closed and unnecessarily expedited process that effectively shut out veterans from providing meaningful input on a decision that could dramatically affect their lives. It remains unclear how the VA intends to implement this change or what the specific impact will be on millions of veterans who have planned their lives around their current compensation levels. Many disabled veterans live on fixed incomes and cannot absorb sudden reductions in their benefits. I ask that you take immediate action to block implementation of this rule and ensure that veterans who responsibly manage their service-connected disabilities are not punished for doing so. Our veterans deserve better than a policy that forces them to choose between their health and their financial stability.