Rule2026-03940
Rescission of Interim Final Rule, Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 27, 2026
Effective
February 27, 2026
Issuing agencies
Veterans Affairs Department
Abstract
VA is rescinding the interim final rule, Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication, published on February 17, 2026, and restoring the prior regulatory text. This rescission is effective immediately upon publication.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 39 (Friday, February 27, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 9712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03940]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
[Docket No. VA-2026-VBA-0067]
38 CFR Part 4
RIN 2900-AS49
Rescission of Interim Final Rule, Evaluative Rating: Impact of
Medication
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
ACTION: Final rule; rescission of interim final rule.
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SUMMARY: VA is rescinding the interim final rule, Evaluative Rating:
Impact of Medication, published on February 17, 2026, and restoring the
prior regulatory text. This rescission is effective immediately upon
publication.
DATES: This final rule rescinding the interim final rule, published at
91 FR 7118 on February 17, 2026, is effective February 27, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ethan Kalett, Executive Director,
Office of Regulatory Oversight and Management, (202) 461-9700.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA announces an immediate rescission of the
interim final rule, Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication, published
in the Federal Register on February 17, 2026. 91 FR 7118. VA issued the
rule to clarify existing policy and protect veterans' benefits in the
wake of an ongoing court action. VA always takes veterans' concerns
seriously and recognizes that many commenters construed the interim
final rule as something that could result in adverse consequences.
VA remains committed to its mission of ensuring that every claimant
applying for benefits--especially veterans who have earned disability
compensation through their honorable service to the Nation--receives
all benefits to which they are entitled under the law as expeditiously
as possible. To ensure that VA can fulfill this mission while
maintaining the trust and confidence of our Nation's veterans, as well
as their families, caregivers, and survivors, the Department hereby
advises that the interim final rule is rescinded effective immediately.
Good Cause Justification: Under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and (d)(3), VA
finds that prior notice and comment for this rescission is
impracticable and contrary to the public interest. Some stakeholders
have expressed uncertainty about the interim final rule's effect on
claims, and leaving the rule in place during a lengthy rulemaking
process could undermine confidence in the benefits system. Immediate
rescission ensures continuity in adjudication and preserves the status
quo. This action does not resolve the legal questions now before the
courts; it simply restores prior regulatory text to maintain stability.
List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 4
Disability benefits, Veterans.
Signing Authority
Douglas A. Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on February 24, 2026, and authorized the undersigned to sign
and submit the document to the Office of the Federal Register for
publication electronically as an official document of the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
Jennifer Williams,
Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, VA amends 38 CFR part 4 as
set forth below:
PART 4--SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES
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1. The authority citation for part 4 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1155, unless otherwise noted.
Subpart A--General Policy in Rating
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2. Revise and republish Sec. 4.10 to read as follows:
Sec. 4.10 Functional impairment.
The basis of disability evaluations is the ability of the body as a
whole, or of the psyche, or of a system or organ of the body to
function under the ordinary conditions of daily life including
employment. Whether the upper or lower extremities, the back or
abdominal wall, the eyes or ears, or the cardiovascular, digestive, or
other system, or psyche are affected, evaluations are based upon lack
of usefulness, of these parts or systems, especially in self-support.
This imposes upon the medical examiner the responsibility of
furnishing, in addition to the etiological, anatomical, pathological,
laboratory and prognostic data required for ordinary medical
classification, full description of the effects of disability upon the
person's ordinary activity. In this connection, it will be remembered
that a person may be too disabled to engage in employment although he
or she is up and about and fairly comfortable at home or upon limited
activity.
[FR Doc. 2026-03940 Filed 2-26-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 27, 2026.
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