Doug Rosinski’s comment on VAWatchdog.org.
On October 31, 2013, VA published a proposed rulew hich seems to be flying under the radar. Perhaps that is because the Federal Register notice is entitled "Standard Claims and Appeals Forms" and most people have not paid much attention to it. Despite its boring title, I can assure you that this is potentially one of the most far-reaching rule changes in a very long while. We have attached the comments of the Veterans Justice Group LLC which more fully explains our concerns with this VA action. In this rulemaking, VA is proposing nothing short of creating a fully adversarial appeals process for denied claims beginning at the Notice of Disagreement (NOD) and a "completeness" requirement for initial claims that sets the effective date of an award as the date VA agrees that a claim is "complete" – not the date a claim is submitted. Both of these changes turn the VA process on its head by creating new duties for claimants and shifting some current VA duties to claimants. Ironically, in our view, the disruption caused by these changes – not to mention the direct effect on claimants' ability to file and appeal claims – is very likely to cause more delays and more wasteful litigation. While we believe very strongly that the Secretary does not have the legal authority to implement the radical process changes proposed in this rulemaking, it is stunning to us that he would try to do so under the guise of "standardizing" VA forms.
Actually, we are supportive of standardized forms and VA correspondence, as it is incredibly frustrating to receive 57 (or more) versions of rating decisions, etc., from VA. It is, however, quite another thing altogether to dismantle the "non-adversarial" VA system in the process. Two proposals are particularly stunning. In the first, VA proposes to eliminate the "substantially" complete and "informal" claim categories. Instead, there will only be "incomplete" and "complete" claims. Anything other than a "complete" claim "could not be the basis of an effective date." Further, to be "complete" a veteran's claim application would have to state the "specific medical conditions" for which he or she seeks benefits. [C-123 Veteran’s note: Under Secretary Hickey strongly recommends veterans submit Fully Developed Claims with assistance from qualified Veterans Service Officers, such services freely provided by VFW, DAV and other organizations.]
