[The Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions]
[Department of Veterans Affairs Regulatory Plan]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 231 / Friday, November 29, 1996 / The
                            Regulatory Plan

[[Page 62136]]

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA)
Statement of Regulatory Priorities
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the custodian and 
administrator of important public obligations to those who served this 
Nation. The VA's regulatory responsibility is almost solely confined to 
carrying out the mandate of the laws enacted by Congress relating to 
programs for veterans and their beneficiaries. VA's major regulatory 
objective is to implement these laws with fairness, justice, and 
efficiency.
Most of the regulations issued by the VA involve three VA components: 
the Veterans Benefits Administration, the Veterans Health 
Administration, and the National Cemetery System. The basic goal of the 
Veterans Benefits Administration is to provide high-quality and timely 
nonmedical benefits to eligible veterans and their beneficiaries. The 
principal goal of the Veterans Health Administration is to provide 
high-quality health care on a timely basis to eligible veterans through 
its system of medical centers, nursing homes, domiciliaries, and 
outpatient medical and dental facilities. The National Cemetery 
System's primary mission is to bury eligible veterans, members of the 
Reserve components, and their dependents in VA National Cemeteries and 
to maintain those cemeteries as national shrines in perpetuity as a 
final tribute of a grateful Nation to honor the memory and service of 
those who served in the Armed Forces.
_______________________________________________________________________
VA

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                            FINAL RULE STAGE

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93. SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES--THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
Priority:


Other Significant


Reinventing Government:


This rulemaking is part of the Reinventing Government effort. It will 
revise text in the CFR to reduce burden or duplication, or streamline 
requirements.


Legal Authority:


 38 USC 1155


CFR Citation:


 38 CFR 4.100; 38 CFR 4.101; 38 CFR 4.102; 38 CFR 4.103; 38 CFR 4.104


Legal Deadline:


None


Abstract:


The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is conducting the first 
comprehensive review of its rating schedule since 1945. These revisions 
will update the rating schedule to ensure that it uses current medical 
terminology and unambiguous criteria, and that it reflects medical 
advances that have occurred since the last review. This comprehensive 
review includes a review of the different body systems identified under 
additional information.


Statement of Need:


Because evaluation criteria in the rating schedule are based on medical 
findings, the advances that have occurred in medicine since the last 
overall revision of the rating schedule in 1945 need to be incorporated 
into the schedule so that it reflects the current state of medicine, 
including the use of new techniques and procedures, such as liver and 
heart transplants. Some medical terms and nomenclature in the current 
schedule are obsolete, and the course of some illnesses has changed 
because of modern therapy. The rating schedule criteria need to reflect 
these advances. There are also new disease entities that have been 
defined or become more common since the last revision.


Summary of the Legal Basis:


Under 38 USC 1155, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is required to 
establish a schedule for rating disabilities and has the authority to 
readjust the schedule from time to time in accordance with experience.


Alternatives:


Although VA has made some ad hoc revisions and additions to the rating 
schedule, this is the first comprehensive review since 1945. We could 
continue to make ad hoc revisions; however, we feel that this would be 
inadequate. We also intend to review three to four body systems per 
year on a cyclical basis to ensure that the schedule remains current.


Anticipated Costs and Benefits:


There are no known administrative costs directly related to these 
regulatory amendments of 38 CFR part 4. The same personnel will 
adjudicate disability claims utilizing the same procedures. There are 
no readily ascertainable entitlement costs or savings related to these 
amendments. There is no accurate way to quantify their impact. We 
expect these revisions to result in greater precision and consistency 
within the disability evaluation process, but anticipate no net savings 
or cost within the entitlement account.


Risks:


None known.


Timetable:
_______________________________________________________________________
Action                                 DFR Cite

_______________________________________________________________________
ANPRM           55 FR 6658                                     02/26/90
ANPRM Comment Period End                                       04/27/90
NPRM            58 FR 4954                                     01/19/93
NPRM Comment Period End                                        03/22/93
Final Action                                                   04/00/97
Small Entities Affected:


None


Government Levels Affected:


None


Additional Information:


For the purposes of the Regulatory Plan, VA has identified the 
individual schedules for rating disabilities (AE89, AE91, AF00, AF01, 
AF02, AF22, AF23, AF24, AH05, AH43) under the umbrella RIN 2900-AE40.


Agency Contact:
Caroll McBrine, M.D.
Consultant, Regulations Staff (213A)
Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Benefits Administration
810 Vermont Avenue NW.
Washington, DC 20420
Phone: 202 273-7210
RIN: 2900-AE40
BILLING CODE 8320-01-F