VA Proposed to Reduce Your Rating

A proposed reduction is not a decision. Under 38 CFR §3.105(e) VA must notify you in advance, explain its reasoning, and give you a window to respond before anything changes. Most veterans lose reductions on procedure, not on medicine — and procedure is where they are most often won back.

The two deadlines

• 30 days — request a predetermination hearing. The reduction cannot take effect until the hearing is held and decided. This is the single most valuable thing in the regulation and it is routinely left unused.
• 60 days — submit evidence. Treatment records, a statement from your treating physician, lay statements, work records.

If neither is done, VA issues the reduction, effective the last day of the month following 60 days from the decision notice.

What VA has to prove

VA cannot reduce a rating simply because one examination looked better. Under 38 CFR §3.344, for ratings in effect five years or more, VA must show:

1. The examination supporting the reduction is at least as full and complete as the one that established the rating. A twenty-minute exam cannot undo a rating built on a thorough one.
2. There is actual material improvement in the condition, not merely a difference in how two examiners described it.
3. The improvement is sustained, not a temporary good spell.
4. The improvement holds under the ordinary conditions of life — including at work.

VA must also apply §4.13 and consider the entire history under §4.1 and §4.2. Failing to address these is the most common reversible error.

Where reductions fall apart

• The reduction exam was less thorough than the original. Compare them side by side — this argument wins cases.
• The examiner never addressed flare-ups. A snapshot on a good day is not sustained improvement.
• No finding of improvement under the ordinary conditions of life. If the report is silent on work and daily function, §3.344 was not satisfied.
• VA skipped the §3.105(e) notice entirely. A reduction without proper advance notice is void, and the rating is restored.
• The rating was protected. See protected ratings — some reductions are barred outright.
• The examination was inadequate on its own terms. Inadequate C&P examinations.

If the reduction has already happened

It is not over. Depending on the facts:

• Higher-Level Review — argue the §3.344 or §3.105(e) failure on the existing record.
• Supplemental Claim — submit new evidence showing the condition never materially improved.
• CUE — where a reduction was made without the required procedure, that can be an undebatable error, and restoration can carry retroactive pay back to the date of the reduction.

A word on "poking the bear"

The fear of filing for an increase and triggering a reduction is one of the most common reasons veterans leave compensation unclaimed. The risk is real — an increase claim invites an examination, and that examination goes into the record.

But it is frequently overstated, and the protections above are why:

• VA must satisfy §3.344 before reducing a stabilised rating.
• Ratings held 5, 10 and 20 years carry escalating protection.
• You get advance notice and a hearing right before anything changes.

The sensible approach is to know where you stand before you file — what is protected, how strong the current evidence is, and whether the increase is supportable. That is a review worth doing first, not a reason never to file.