“So, what’s your disability rating?”
It’s one of those questions some people put on the “no go” list along with politics and religion while others shout out their ratings loud and proud. Whether you or your servicemember are comfortable talking about disability ratings with others you must understand how a disability rating is calculated before transition out of active duty military life.
As a military spouse, we’re fed lots of misinformation about the VA disability process. This is one area where you can’t really do anything for your servicemember other than support them through it and remind them of their aches and pains as they complete their medical history.
Here’s the quick version of what is the VA disability rating all about and help in understanding how the rating is calculated.
What is a VA Disability Rating?
The disability rating your servicemember receives is based on the type and severity of their service-connected illness or injuries. This includes both physical and mental evaluations. The final percentage is determined by several factors including doctor reports, medical records, witness statements, VA claim exams, etc. for each illness or injury. Once you have the ratings for each illness or injury you can calculate the total percentage. That percentage is tied to a dollar amount and the kinds of services and benefits that the servicemember will receive.
You can dig more into the process of filing a claim by reading our Benefits Disability at Discharge article. You can also head to the VA.gov disability rating page to see what they say about calculating percentages, but before you do that, check out the next section that simplifies what is often called, “VA math.”
How is your VA Disability Rating Calculated or What is VA Math?
Your servicemember just got their ratings back and they received 50% for a CPAP, 40% for their knees, and 40% for their foot. Whoop! You just reached 130%, right?
Wrong.
Welcome to “VA math.”
This “theSITREP” video is the best explanation of VA math and how to calculate percentages for a final rating that I’ve found. You can also click the link above to the VA website. They do have a calculator on there as well, but their VA math explanation left me feeling confused when we started the process of understanding disability ratings.
So now you know that taking our example above and using the same process that is used in this video, your servicemember would receive a rating of 82% rounded to the nearest 10% for a final rating of 80%.
I hope that made it easier to understand!
What is Total, Permanent, or P&T?
Along with a final rating comes a “classification.” This means that an injury can be considered one of three things:
- Total
- Permanent
- Permanent and Total
Total Ratings
Total ratings are when your servicemember has reached 100%. You will not receive more money or more services if you continue to accrue illnesses and injuries that take you past that 100%. Instead, you will receive the highest level of compensation, and services, and are eligible for all benefits based on that disability rating for the disabilities listed.
A total rating can be reduced if the illness or injury is treated, healed, or significantly improved. When your servicemember has a total rating there are follow-up medical appointments required to review the disabilities attached to that rating. Current timelines list between two to five years for reevaluation.
Total ratings are where we hear the cringe stories like, “My servicemember was rated for 90% then they reevaluated and took it down to 10% but she’s still in so much pain.” I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but with proper documentation, your servicemember’s honest conversation with the doctors, and a proper medical evaluation the goal is that your servicemember will get a fair VA rating for any illnesses and injuries. This is where I encourage you as the spouse to support your servicemember by reminding them about the headaches, backache, foot pain, tendonitis, etc. that they have experienced during their time in service. When you’re told to suck it up and take ibuprofen for so many years, downgrading physical and mental pains comes naturally.
Remember, total ratings can always be appealed.
Permanent Ratings
Disabilities are classified as “permanent” when the VA is sure that there will be no improvement or changes that would alter the servicemember’s ability to function. Permanent disabilities do not change and are not reevaluated.
Permanent and Total or P&T Ratings
Disabilities can also be rated both total and permanent. P&T ratings happen when there is at least one (but could be multiple) disability or condition that meets the rating requirement of 100% and will not improve over the servicemember’s lifetime.
Finding a Veteran Service Organization (VSO) to help
Not all VSOs are reputable or accredited! VSOs offer their services for free. If someone wants to charge you to help they may be trying to scam you! The best way to find a VSO that can help file your VA claim and answer questions is to locate one directly from the VA here. I dropped in my zip code and got 21 pages of names within 50 miles of where we live in central Texas. This is the best place to start if you don’t already have a connection a VSO organization like Disabled American Veterans (DAV) or Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
You can also get support through an accredited attorney or claims agents. While these services may have fees attached to them, they are recognized as accredited by the VA because they have an understanding of the support you may need. Be sure to use the accredited locator on the VA website to find one near to you.
