Veterans Affairs Transfer of Information and Sharing of Disability Examination Procedures With DOD Doctors Act
This bill would overhaul how disability evaluations are handled for service members who are separating from the Armed Forces. It adds a requirement that the DoD’s separation physical exam include a single, comprehensive disability examination. If the service member may be eligible for VA disability benefits, the exam must be performed (or completed) by a health care provider certified by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA-certified determination would then be binding on the VA for assigning a disability rating. In addition, the bill directs the DoD and VA to create a joint recordkeeping system to share medical and personnel data between the two departments. In short, the bill aims to streamline disability eligibility and rating during separation by involving VA-certified evaluators directly in the DoD exam and by tying the resulting eligibility decision to VA ratings, while also creating a shared record system between DoD and VA.
Key Points
- 1Adds new requirements to the DoD separation physical: when a condition may qualify for VA disability, the exam must be performed by a VA-certified provider (and completed by one if the initial examiner isn’t certified).
- 2VA disability eligibility determined during this separation exam would be binding on the Department of Veterans Affairs for the disability rating decision.
- 3Establishes a joint DoD-VA recordkeeping system to share medical and personnel records across both departments.
- 4The change is positioned as creating a single, comprehensive disability examination as part of the separation process.
- 5The bill was introduced in the House (H.R. 555) and referred to the Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs committees for consideration.