Review Every Veterans Claim Act of 2025
The Review Every Veterans Claim Act of 2025 would limit how the Department of Veterans Affairs can deny a veteran’s benefits claim when the reason for denial is that the veteran did not attend a VA-provided medical examination. Specifically, it would add a new provision stating that a claim may not be denied solely on the basis of failure to appear for a medical examination. The bill also makes two editorial changes to 38 U.S.C. 5103A: it renames the section’s heading from “Compensation Claims” to “Claims for Benefits,” and it updates the wording around medical examinations or opinions to reflect that VA may provide examinations or obtain opinions as part of processing a claim. The short title is the “Review Every Veterans Claim Act of 2025.” If enacted, the bill would generally prevent automatic denial of a claim simply because a veteran missed a scheduled medical examination, though other denial grounds could still apply.
Key Points
- 1Short title: This act may be cited as the “Review Every Veterans Claim Act of 2025.”
- 2Heading change: Replaces the 5103A subsection heading from “Compensation Claims” to “Claims for Benefits.”
- 3Wording adjustment: Replaces language that described examinations as “necessary to make a decision on a claim” with language that frames VA exams as something the agency may provide for a medical examination or obtain a medical opinion under the claims process.
- 4New protection: Adds a new paragraph restricting denial on the sole basis of failing to appear for a VA-provided medical examination.
- 5Scope of reform: Applies to claims for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; does not state that all adverse actions are removed, only that denial cannot be solely based on failure to attend the exam.