The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of medical expenses incurred during non-VA medical services provided at Aspirus Wausau Hospital on January 31, 2017. The prior authorization by VA was established through written confirmation and the Veteran had a pre-existing service-connected condition that required further treatment.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's private hospitalization was authorized by VA in advance for his nonservice-connected conditions (persistent cough and abdominal muscle strain) and provided with prior written authorization, meeting the criteria under 38 U.S.C. § 1703(a).
- Claimed conditions
- Persistent cough, Abdominal muscle strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19150016
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (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 19150016.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's PTSD was granted a 70 percent rating from August 8, 2023, while service connection for persistent cough and sleep apnea was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for deep vein thrombosis, left leg and restored a 30 percent rating for migraines effective from September 26, 2022. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's GERD with a history of esophagitis is currently rated as noncompensable, and the Board finds that it does not warrant a compensable rating at any time during the pendency of the appeal.,The Veteran's abdominal muscle strain is currently rated as noncompensable, and the Board finds that it does not warrant a compensable rating at any time during the pendency of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to address the issues of service connection for traumatic brain injury, persistent cough as due to a qualifying chronic disability, and left foot condition. The case will be returned to the Board after this development.
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