Welcome to this brief article on how to submit a supplemental claim on va.gov.From the va.gov homepage, you will notice the VA Benefits and Health Care drop down menu, positioned at the top. Clicking this reveals a drop down list, from which we will select ‘disability’. Beneath this, you will see ‘manage benefits’, with the last link listed as ‘request a decision review or appeal’. Click this for the next step.
The ‘VA decision reviews and appeals’ page will appear. Continue by scrolling down to ‘request a decision review’, here we will select the first link labelled ‘decision review option supplemental claim’. Clicking this link will take us to the page for supplemental claims.
Scroll down slightly until you see the link ‘file a supplemental claim online’ and click on this.
Verification and Tracking
You will be asked for some verification information to confirm you’re on the right page for filing the supplemental claim – VA Form 20-0995. A disability compensation claim can be selected from the options. Click ‘continue’ to proceed.
You will then need to provide some eligibility information. Now, scroll down and sign in to start your application.
You will be given multiple sign-in method options. I used ‘my healthy vet’, but any option should work.
After logging in successfully, the ‘file a supplemental claim’ page will load. Here, you can choose to either continue a previously started application or commence a new one. For the purpose of this guide, select ‘start a new application’.
The first page that loads will provide information about an intent to file. Verify your intent to file information, check when it will expire and click continue.
Personal Information and Contact Details
You will be asked to check your personal information – if all details are correct, click ‘continue’. Repeat this step for your contact information, including your primary phone number.
An advantageous feature about this online application is that it can generate a list of your previous decisions for you to choose from. This list can be found as you scroll down. If you do not see a previous decision here, there’s an ‘add a new issue’ link at the bottom of the list.
It’s important to note that it needs to be a decision that was previously made, not a completely new claim.
When you have selected a previous decision, scroll down and click ‘continue’.
Submit Supplemental Claim
The next phase consists of verifying details of the conditions or decisions relevant to the supplemental claim you are submitting. This comprises of a summary of these conditions/decisions. Ensure all details are correct before clicking ‘continue’. You will be informed about the new decision review process if you had filed your claim and received a decision before February 19, 2019. In such cases, you will need to opt into the new process for your supplemental claim.
The next page advises that if you have a presumptive condition that was previously denied a supplemental claim, this form can help in the successful request for review of said previous decision. You will be prompted to review a notice of evidence needed, which is found by clicking the link provided. Once you have reviewed this information, click ‘I certify’ and proceed by clicking ‘continue’.
Gathering Medical Records and Evidence
You will be asked if you want VA to request your medical records. If you’re not submitting everything with your form today, then select ‘yes’. But, if you’re submitting all of your evidence with the claim on that day, opt for ‘no’.
The same question will be asked regarding your private medical records. Here we are also going to select ‘no’ because we have all the evidence we want to submit.
At this juncture, you will be able to upload supporting evidence such as buddy statements, independent medical provider information or even Nexus letters. You will then be asked to specify the type of document you are uploading.
After selecting the appropriate document type for every file, you can keep uploading by clicking on ‘upload another file’, until you have uploaded all relevant files. Click ‘continue’ once completed.
The following page will provide a summary of all the uploaded documents. Review this and if all looks correct, click ‘continue’. The next step is a review of everything in the application, navigable by expanding the sections using the plus signs. Once all sections have been thoroughly read and confirmed accurate, tick the ‘I have read and accepted the privacy policy’ box, proceeding with your application submission.
It’s important to note that during this process, your application auto-saves each time a change is made, with an identification number for your application displayed at the bottom. This enables you to leave and return later, allowing you to continue from where you left off. We hope you found this guide helpful and we wish you a pleasant day.