The veteran is seeking reimbursement for unauthorized medical expenses incurred on April 2, 2002. The VAMC denied the claim based on eligibility under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1728. However, the Board found that the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1725 and its implementing regulations may apply to her case due to the timing of the treatment and the new law. The VAMC is required to review the claim under these new laws.
The deciding factor: The veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred on April 2, 2002 are potentially covered by the Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act (38 U.S.C.A. § 1725) due to the timing of her treatment relative to the effective date of this law.
- Claimed conditions
- syncope, abdominal pain
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 26, 2004
- Citation
- 0410827
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,613 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0410827.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection on the issues of chest pain, ear condition, vaginosis, syncope, thyroid condition, and jaw condition have been dismissed due to non-jurisdictional procedural defects. The Board has also remanded the claims for service connection on the issues of occipital neuralgia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right finger amputations and denied increased ratings for a back disability and syncope, finding that the evidence does not support a conclusion that these conditions are secondary to the Veteran's service-connected syncope.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the Veteran does not have a current respiratory disability other than sleep apnea. The claims for abdominal pain, type I diabetes, peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, and an immune disorder are remanded due to a duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and abdominal pain as there is no current diagnosed disability of IBS or functional impairment due to abdominal or constipation symptoms.
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