It used to be that when a veteran started the disability compensation claim process, he was forced to simply deal with the delay. Now, with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA’s) new Fully Developed Claims (FDC) Program, a veteran has a genuine opportunity to truly expedite his claim.
The FDC Program is exactly what it sounds like – if a veteran can give the VA a fully developed application, including relevant medical evidence, he will be placed in a priority channel for review of his claim. In order to meet the criteria for an FDC claim, the veteran must do three things: 1) submit his claim on the VA Form 21-256EZ; 2) simultaneously submit with his claim any relevant private medical treatment records and/or identify the medical records that may be available at federal facilities; and 3) if applicable, report for any medical examinations scheduled by the VA.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? After all, no one likes standing in line, especially if it’s a very long one! But before you take advantage of the FDC Program, be careful:
- First, make sure that you have all information necessary to render your claim appropriate for the FDC Program. If the VA finds that other records are necessary to decide your claim, it will pull your claim from the FDC Program queue and put it in the Standard Claims Process (ie, the very long line).
- Second, obtain all information you require from private care providers. In the Standard Claims Process, the VA will make efforts to obtain records from private providers. This is not done in the FDC Program. This does not mean that the VA will not obtain and/or consider them; it simply means that it will pluck your claim from the FDC queue so the records may be obtained.
- Third, make sure that you have thought of everything you would like to include. One advantage of having to wait so long for an initial decision in the Standard Claims Process is that if in the interim, a veteran thinks of more evidence he would like to add, he has the opportunity to do so within one year of the VA’s receipt of the claim. In contrast, while you may submit additional evidence for a claim in the FDC Program queue, the penalty is that your claim will be removed from the FDC Program queue and put in the Standard Claims Process.
If you know how to take advantage of it, the FDC Program can be your ticket to having your disability compensation claim resolved as quickly as possible by the VA. However, before you pursue this as an option, do your research. Make sure you truly understand how the Program works and have gathered all of the possibly relevant information that the VA will need to decide your claim. If not, the VA will put you right back in the place you were looking to avoid…the very long line.
For more information on the FDC Program, visit the VA’s website at: http://benefits.va.gov/transformation/fastclaims/. A copy of the FDC Program application is available at: http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-526EZ-ARE.pdf.
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Hi. You can find a blank Fillable VA Form 21-526 here.
http://goo.gl/7lDHd7
Please feel free to use it. You can fill out the form, save it, fax it, and email it.
I am submitting a FDC for back, neck, and shoulder pain and PTSD. I’ve had shoulder surgery, but I have not been treated for the PTSD. Do I need to see a doctor to evaluate my conditions beforehand or should I file and see if the VA requests exams? I am in the Philippines and seeing a doctor is not easy, and I don’t have money for expensive tests. I am also waiting for my DD 214. If I add the DD 214 and doctors evaluations after filing, will this cause the claim status to change from FDC to regular status, and thereby delay processing?
Hi Wayne,
You can see a doctor and ask for an opinion as to whether your current disability is service-connected; however, doctors who do exams for the VA follow very specific questionnaires and the value of such opinion might be discounted by the VA. It is probably not worth it, other than to establish a record that you have been/are being treated for the disabilities for which you seek compensation.
In general, for FDC claims, YOU provide the records of your treatment from private care physicians, and the VA will request the records for treatment through the VA. Everyone you give them has to be sufficiently detailed and complete. Then, once they review, they will schedule an exam if they find it necessary for purposes of evaluating your service-connection and degree of disability. (This might be difficult if you’re in the Philippines – them locating a VA examiner for you). Here’s the walkthrough on the VA site: http://www.benefits.va.gov/FDC/walkthrough.asp.
This is for informational purposes only, but if you have more specific questions about the process, please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]. Thanks, Wayne.