VA Asthma Claim Denied: PACT Act Presumption, Direct, or Secondary?
The PACT Act presumes asthma diagnosed after service is service connected for covered veterans. If you are not covered, the claim needs a medical link. Check which route VA decided.
Intelligence Brief
Clear guides, original reporting and a closer look at VA claims.
Rules & updates
37 articles · All sections
PACT Act Deployment Records: How to Prove Where You Served
A presumptive claim needs proof that you served in a listed place during listed dates. How each exposure program draws its map, which records prove location, and what to do when no record shows it.
Hoffman v. Collins: When a Supplemental Claim Cannot Use Up Your Intent to File
VA said a supplemental claim used up Robert Hoffman’s Intent to File. The court disagreed. Here is the filing sequence, what changed, and the records to check.
After Hamill v. Collins: How to Find a VA Claim That Was Never Actually Decided
The Federal Circuit says a claim the VA never explicitly decided is still pending. Here is how to read your decisions since 2019, spot an unaddressed issue, and act on it.
Hamill v. Collins: The VA Can No Longer Deny Your Claim in Silence
A new Federal Circuit ruling ends the VA's implicit denial doctrine for AMA-era claims. A claim the VA never explicitly decided may still be pending, with an earlier effective date on the table.
Freund v. Collins Update: A Fairness Hearing on August 13, and Where Your Reopened Appeal Stands
The VACOLS appeal-closure settlement now has a fairness hearing set for August 13, 2026. Here is where things stand and what affected veterans should watch for.
Take Care of America's Veterans Act: H.R. 9237 and S. 4744 Status
Current status of H.R. 9237 and S. 4744, plus the proposed tinnitus and sleep apnea rating changes. Neither proposal is law.
M21-1 Update: VA Reorganizes How It Service-Connects Insomnia
The VA revised M21-1, Part V, Subpart iii, Chapter 13, the Mental Disorders chapter, to reorganize and clarify how claims processors handle service connection for insomnia.
M21-1 Update: A New Exam Exception for Higher-Level Review Returns
The VA updated M21-1, Part IV, Subpart i, Chapter 2, Section A, the Examination Requests Overview, to add an exception to its complex-medical-opinion guidance for cases returned through Higher-Level Review.
The VA Closed Thousands of Veterans' Appeals by Mistake. Freund v. Collins Forces Them to Look Again
A class action in the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is forcing the VA to audit tens of thousands of legacy appeals it closed automatically — many of which were filed on time. If your appeal was pending between December 12, 1990 and February 6, 2025, here's what the Freund v. Collins settlement means for you.
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