M21-1 and 38 CFR changes, week of Apr 20, 2026

Added

• April 22, 2026
• penalize these service members (by removal from the BDD program) under these rare circumstances.
• and STRs from the current period of service are available for the examiner to review, then, within 5 calendar days of the date the documents (to include STRs) are uploaded to VBMS
• request a general medical examination, along with any necessary specialist examinations,
• follow the procedures in
• M21-1, Part VIII, Subpart ii, 1.B.2.o
• , if the claim involves an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness (MUCMI) incurred during Gulf War era service.

and 38 more added passages

Removed

• December 4, 2024
• penalize these service members (by removing them from the BDD program) under these rare circumstances.
• ) and STRs from the current period of service are available for the examiner to review, request a general medical examination, along with any necessary specialist examinations, within 5 calendar days of the date the documents (to include STRs) are uploaded to VBMS.
• June 6, 2022
• the suspense date is always the date following the anticipated discharge date.
• the date of claim (DOC) to use for pre-discharge claims, see
• Share User Guide

and 43 more removed passages

Added

• April 20, 2026
• When a claim is received that includes one or more automation-eligible contentions, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) uses automation tools to draft and submit examination requests for the automation-eligible contention(s) when warranted.
• is a VA examination facility or contract examination provider
• tool when requesting examinations in support of claims for service-connected (SC) compensation, Veterans Pension, and survivors benefits, absent any noted exception(s).
• tool’s use is
• required for examination requests prepared by automation, as these will always be routed to a contract examination provider.

and 63 more added passages

Removed

• February 15, 2024
• is a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) examination facility or contract examination provider
• tool when requesting examinations in support of claims for service-connected (SC) compensation, Veterans Pension, and survivors benefits.
• enter the examination request to the VHA or VA contract examination facility.
• The medical examiner conducting the examination should confirm the existence of and evaluate
• April 29, 2025
• When requesting medical opinions, RO employees should identify all relevant evidence for the examiner’s review, both favorable and unfavorable.

and 15 more removed passages