Transcript:
00:00:00
So the AMA stands for the Appeals Modernization Act. This was an act that was put into law in 2019, and it completely changed the way that you appeal denials of VA disability compensation claims.
00:00:15
So the AMA was passed in an attempt to reform the old legacy appeals process, which was widely criticized for being too slow, too complex, too inefficient. The thought was this new system would be simpler. It would be more flexible. It would give veterans more choices in how they wanted to pursue their appeals and potentially result in faster decisions on appeals.
00:00:37
In the AMA, the new system, when you get a denial of a benefit, you have three options for how you want to appeal that. You can go to the board, which is what we would do in the old system. That was the only option in the old system. Or you can file for a higher level review, have a more senior reviewer take a look at the decision.
00:00:56
Or if you think, you know what, I feel like if I just had this extra piece of information, this extra piece of evidence, they might have granted it. You can file a supplemental claim with new and relevant evidence and have that decision revisited. So you have a lot more appeal options than just going straight to the board, which you had in the old system.
00:01:14
You have more opportunities to submit evidence, but you need to pay attention when those evidence windows open. In the old system, if your claim is pending at the board, you could submit evidence up until the day the board decided the decision. It was all under consideration.
00:01:29
Under the AMA, depending on which appeal option you choose, that’s going to determine whether you can submit new evidence or whether you’re asking for the VA to take a look at the record without any new evidence in it. The great thing though about the AMA is it helps you preserve your effective date. As long as you’re filing some sort of review option within a year of your last decision, you’re keeping that claim stream alive, which ultimately, if you do prevail on that claim, you have the potential of being paid all the way back to your initial claim date.
This transcription was AI populated.
