Question:
I know you have received many questions about P&T with mental health ratings, but I haven’t found the answer to mine. I have been rated 0% Folliculitis (razor bumps), 10% GERD, and 10% Tinnitus, 20% lumbar strain, and 100% Major Depressive disorder since 2016 (50% 2013-2016). My question is: a voluntary commitment triggered a review in 2016, and I am due to be reviewed again in 2021. I will be 58 when the next review is done. Will these reviews continue into my 60’s, or is it possible for the VA make my rating permanent. I ask because I have an adopted daughter who will graduate high school in 2022, and ready to go to college.
Jim's Reply:
It's not possible to predict what VA may do in your situation. Ordinarily, a benefit should be made permanent when it's apparent that no improvement is to be expected. But this gets tied up with age and work skills and such and leaves us wondering what may come next. I'd anticipate that at the next review in 2021 that if there is no measurable improvement in your mental health condition, that's the appropriate time to tell the examiner that you believe the rating should be permanent.