38 CFR Chapter I - DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending its adjudication regulation regarding certificates of eligibility for financial assistance in the purchase of an automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment. The amendment authorizes automatic issuance of a certificate of eligibility for financial assistance in the purchase of an automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment to all veterans with service-connected amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty with ALS.

This rule adopts as final, with changes, a proposed rule of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to amend its regulations concerning the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program (SSVF). In the proposed rule published on May 9, 2014, VA proposed to make a number of changes to the SSVF program to emphasize the intended goals of SSVF. VA is making minor changes to the proposed rule based on comments we received.

This document proposes to amend the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Loan Guaranty Service (LGY) regulations that govern adjustable rate mortgages made in conjunction with the Home Loan Guaranty program. These revisions would align VA's disclosure and interest rate adjustment requirements with the implementing regulations of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), as recently revised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Specifically, the rule would amend the timing, content, and format requirements for the disclosures provided to borrowers prior to an interest-rate adjustment. The proposed regulation would also require that an interest-rate adjustment correspond with the interest rate index available 45 days prior to the adjustment. This proposed rulemaking would ensure VA's consistency with other applicable consumer finance and housing regulations governing adjustable rate mortgages.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its regulations governing entitlement to VA pension to maintain the integrity of the pension program and to implement recent statutory changes. The proposed regulations would establish new requirements pertaining to the evaluation of net worth and asset transfers for pension purposes and would identify those medical expenses that may be deducted from countable income for VA's needs-based benefit programs. The intended effect of these changes is to respond to recent recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to maintain the integrity of VA's needs-based benefit programs, and to clarify and address issues necessary for the consistent adjudication of pension and parents' dependency and indemnity compensation claims. We also propose to implement statutory changes pertaining to certain pension beneficiaries who receive Medicaid-covered nursing home care, as well as a statutory income exclusion for certain disabled veterans and a non-statutory income exclusion pertaining to annuities.

This rulemaking adopts as final, without change, a proposed rule creating regulations for the Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) benefits program. Through the HISA benefits program, VA provides monetary benefits to disabled veterans for necessary home improvements and alterations. An increase in the HISA benefits limit was authorized by the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010. This rulemaking codifies regulations governing the HISA benefits program and incorporates the increase in HISA benefits authorized by the 2010 Act.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its regulation regarding the presence of animals on VA property. Current VA regulation authorizes the presence of seeing-eye dogs on VA property and other animals as authorized at the discretion of a VA facility head or designee. However, applicable Federal law authorizes the presence of guide dogs and other service animals when these animals accompany individuals with disabilities seeking admittance to buildings or property owned or operated by the Federal Government. This proposed rule would expand the current VA regulation to be consistent with applicable Federal law, and would clarify the authority of a VA facility head or designee to allow nonservice animals to be present on VA property.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amends its medical regulations concerning its authority for eligible veterans to receive care from non-VA entities and providers. The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 directs VA to establish a program to furnish hospital care and medical services through non-VA health care providers to veterans who either cannot be seen within the wait-time goals of the Veterans Health Administration or who qualify based on their place of residence (hereafter referred to as the Veterans Choice Program, or the “Program”). The law also requires VA to publish an interim final rule establishing this program. This interim final rule defines the parameters of the Veterans Choice Program, and clarifies aspects affecting veterans and the non-VA providers who will furnish hospital care and medical services through the Veterans Choice Program.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amends its medical regulations concerning the copayment required for certain medications. But for this rulemaking, beginning on January 1, 2015, the copayment amount would increase based on a formula set forth in regulation. The maximum annual copayment amount payable by veterans would also increase. This rulemaking freezes copayments for 2015 at the current rate for veterans in priority categories 2 through 8, and thereafter resumes increasing copayments in accordance with the regulatory formula.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its regulations defining who may apply for a headstone or marker. The intended effect of this proposed rule would be to expand the types of individuals who may request headstones and markers on behalf of decedents. This amendment would address concerns that the existing applicant definition is too restrictive and results in identified veteran gravesites going unmarked.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is proposing to implement through regulation statutory authority to provide grants for the development of new assistive technologies for use in specially adapted housing for eligible veterans or servicemembers, as authorized by the Veterans' Benefits Act of 2010 (the Act), enacted on October 13, 2010. The Act authorizes VA to provide grants of up to $200,000 per fiscal year to persons or entities to encourage the development of specially adapted housing assistive technologies. VA is amending its regulations to outline the process, the criteria, and the priorities relating to the award of these research and development grants.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending its regulations governing Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI), Family SGLI, SGLI Traumatic Injury Protection, and Veterans' Group Life Insurance (all hereafter referred to as SGLI) to clarify and acknowledge what is implicit in the law: that VA, which has the responsibility under the law to administer the SGLI programs, also has the right to full access to records held by the insurer or on behalf of the insurer from whom VA has purchased a policy. These records include all of the insurer's records related to the operation and administration of the SGLI programs necessary to protect the legal and financial rights of the Government and of the persons affected by the activities of the agency and its agents. This document adopts as a final rule, without change, the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on September 23, 2013.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amended by interim final rule its adjudication regulation regarding specially adapted housing (SAH) to authorize automatic issuance of a certificate of eligibility for SAH to all veterans and active-duty servicemembers with service-connected amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) rated totally disabling under the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities. This document adopts as a final rule, without change, the interim final rule published in the Federal Register on December 3, 2013.

This document amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) insurance regulations concerning Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) to reflect the statutory provisions of the Veterans' Benefits Act of 2010, which became law on October 13, 2010, and resulted in the need for amendments to change the SGLI Disability Extension period from 1 year to 2 years in duration; provide SGLI Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI) retroactive coverage effective from October 7, 2001, for all qualifying injuries regardless of the geographic location and military operation in which the injuries were incurred; and remove the SGLI and Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) Accelerated Benefits Option (ABO) discount rate. This rule also clarifies that “initial premium” refers to “initial Veterans' Group Life Insurance premium,” updates the current address of the Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (OSGLI), managed by Prudential Insurance Company of America, to reflect where the ABO application is mailed for processing, and corrects the OSGLI phone number. Finally, this rule removes the ABO application form from the regulation, and it corrects and clarifies language concerning the VGLI application period that was inadvertently incorrectly modified in a prior amendment of the regulations.