VA Disability Exams: Bill Moves to Make Contract Doctors a Permanent Fixture

This legislation is set to make a big change permanent for veterans seeking disability benefits: the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will continue to use contract physicians—doctors not directly employed by the VA—to conduct medical disability examinations. The bill formally adds this practice into law under section 5103B of title 38, United States Code, effectively ending the existing pilot program that started back in 1996. As part of this shift, the VA Secretary is also tasked with reporting to Congress within three years on how using these outside doctors impacts the cost, speed, and quality of these crucial exams.

More Doctors, More Places?

So, what does this mean in practice? The core idea is to expand the pool of doctors available to perform disability exams. Under this bill, the VA can contract with physicians who meet the same eligibility standards as those working in VA hospitals (as outlined in section 7402(b) of title 38). A key detail is that these contract doctors can perform exams in any state, as long as they hold a valid, unrestricted medical license and aren't barred from practicing anywhere. For a veteran living far from a VA facility, this could potentially mean an exam closer to home. The costs for these exams, including any travel for the physician, will come out of the VA's compensation and pension funds.

New Evidence and Old Questions

The bill also requires the VA to set up a system for these contract physicians to submit any new medical evidence a veteran provides during their examination. This is important because it ensures that fresh information relevant to a claim gets into the right hands. While making the program permanent aims to streamline the disability claims process, it also brings some ongoing questions into sharper focus. The mandated report to Congress will be looking at whether this approach actually saves money, speeds things up, and maintains—or improves—the thoroughness of examinations. For veterans, the hope is faster access to exams; however, there's a practical concern about whether contract physicians, who may be paid per exam, will have the same depth of understanding of military-specific conditions or the same level of oversight as VA-employed doctors. The shift from a pilot to a permanent program means these are now long-term considerations for how the VA serves its veterans.