03/12/2026
🚨Stop The Fear Mongering🚨
Congress Recognized the Fundamental Right of Veterans to Support Their VA Claims Using Private Medical Professionals
Since the passage of the Veterans Judicial Review Act in the late 1980s, Congress has recognized the pivotal importance of a Veteran’s right to consult with a private medical professional for the purpose of supplementing claims with additional medical evidence supporting disability ratings.⁴
Under 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b), veterans may submit medical reports or examinations in support of their claims without limitation as to whether those reports originate from private physicians who charge a fee for their services.⁵ Moreover, 38 U.S.C. § 5125 explicitly codifies a Veteran’s right to provide medical reports from private physicians in support of disability claims.⁶
More recently, with the passage of 38 U.S.C. § 5101(d)(1)(A), Congress reaffirmed this fundamental right by requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQs) available on the VA’s public-facing websites.⁷ In doing so, Congress rejected the VA’s position that DBQs should be limited solely to VA medical examiners and not available for completion by private healthcare professionals. By rejecting this position, Congress recognized the significant value of second opinions from private physicians in the adjudication of veterans’ claims.
The standards governing the evaluation and weighing of medical evidence during adjudication focus on whether the medical professional possesses the “education, training, or experience” necessary to provide competent medical diagnoses, statements, or opinions.⁸
There is no requirement that a medical professional be accredited by the VA Office of General Counsel (OGC) to prepare, present, or prosecute claims in order to render a medical opinion.
Such a requirement would be inappropriate in any event, as the VA OGC is not a medical licensing authority. Agents, Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representatives, and attorneys need not possess medical training in order to obtain VA accreditation. Instead, licensed medical professionals are regulated by their respective state licensing boards and are bound by established standards of medical ethics that are more appropriate for governing the provision of medical opinions and related services.
