Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This section addresses continuation of a total mental-disorder evaluation following a continuous hospitalization lasting six months or more. It requires a later examination under the timing specified in the rule.
A change based on that examination is subject to the referenced reduction provisions. The rule applies to the particular hospitalization and total-evaluation situation described here, not every mental-health admission.
How this helps your claim
This helps you understand the continued evaluation and planned examination after discharge. Compare the hospital history and rating notices with the complete requirements.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Confirm the continuous hospitalization period and discharge or release date.
- Find the basis for the total evaluation during hospitalization.
- Review the scheduled examination and any proposed change notices.
Check the hospitalization and evaluation history
This provision applies to a specified continuous hospitalization and total-evaluation situation. Establish the admission and discharge dates and the evaluation in effect before applying its follow-up requirement. A short admission for the same diagnosis is not automatically within this rule.
Keep the later examination and any proposal to change benefits with that timeline. The examination provides evidence for the next evaluation, while referenced reduction procedures govern how a qualifying change is handled. The completion of an examination alone does not establish the result.
Does this apply after every mental-health hospitalization?
No. The duration and total-rating circumstances in the regulation matter. Other hospital or convalescence provisions can raise different questions. Read the award authority and hospital history before assuming that this specific posthospital rule controls every admission or discharge.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 4.128
eCFR snapshot: September 3, 2026. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
§ 4.128 Convalescence ratings following extended hospitalization.
If a mental disorder has been assigned a total evaluation due to a continuous period of hospitalization lasting six months or more, the rating agency shall continue the total evaluation indefinitely and schedule a mandatory examination six months after the veteran is discharged or released to nonbed care. A change in evaluation based on that or any subsequent examination shall be subject to the provisions of § 3.105(e) of this chapter.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1155)
[61 FR 52700, Oct. 8, 1996]
Related references
- 38 CFR § 3.105: VA decision revision, CUE, and rating reductions
- 38 USC § 1155: The law behind VA disability rating percentages
- 38 CFR § 4.1: What a VA disability rating measures
- 38 CFR § 3.159: VA duty to assist: records and examinations
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