An act to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit certain reports relating to medical evidence submitted in support of claims for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary
PL 115-130 (H.R.1725), enacted 03/09/2018

132 STAT. 332 
PUBLIC LAW 115–130—MAR. 9, 2018 
Public Law 115–130 
115th Congress 
An Act 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit certain reports relating to 
medical evidence submitted in support of claims for benefits under the laws 
administered by the Secretary. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. REPORT ON PROGRESS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS ACCEPTABLE CLINICAL EVIDENCE INITIA-
TIVE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the 
progress of the Acceptable Clinical Evidence initiative of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs in reducing the necessity for in-person 
disability examinations and other efforts to comply with the provi-
sions of section 5125 of title 38, United States Code. 
(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report required by subsection 
(a) shall include the following: 
(1) The number of claims eligible for the Acceptable Clinical 
Evidence initiative during the period beginning on the date 
of the commencement of the initiative and ending on the date 
of the submittal of the report, disaggregated by fiscal year. 
(2) The total number of claims eligible for the Acceptable 
Clinical Evidence initiative that required a medical examiner 
of the Department to supplement the evidence with information 
obtained during a telephone interview with a claimant. 
(3) Information on any other initiatives or efforts of the 
Department to further encourage the use of private medical 
evidence and reliance upon reports of a medical examination 
administered by a private physician if the report is sufficiently 
complete to be adequate for the purposes of adjudicating a 
claim. 
(4) The anticipated impact on the timeline and accuracy 
of a decision on a claim for benefits under chapter 11 or 
15 of title 38, United States Code, if the Secretary were prohib-
ited from requesting a medical examination in the case of 
a claim in support of which a claimant submits medical evidence 
and a medical opinion provided by a private physician that 
is competent, credible, probative, and otherwise adequate for 
the purpose of making a decision on that claim. 
(5) Recommendations on how the Department can measure, 
track, and prevent the ordering of unnecessary medical 
examinations when the provision by a claimant of a medical 
Mar. 9, 2018 
[H.R. 1725] 
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132 STAT. 333 
PUBLIC LAW 115–130—MAR. 9, 2018 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1725: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 115–133 (Comm. on Veterans’ Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 163 (2017): May 23, considered and passed House. 
Vol. 164 (2018): Feb. 15, considered and passed Senate. 
examination administered by a private physician in support 
of a claim for benefits under chapter 11 or 15 of title 38, 
United States Code, is adequate for the purpose of making 
a decision on that claim. 
SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT ON SUBMITTAL OF PRIVATE MEDICAL EVI-
DENCE IN SUPPORT OF CLAIMS FOR DEPARTMENT OF VET-
ERANS AFFAIRS BENEFITS. 
Not later than March 1 of fiscal years 2018 through 2024, 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report 
that includes, for the calendar year preceding the year in which 
the report is submitted, the following for each regional office of 
the Department of Veterans Affairs: 
(1) The number of times a veteran who submitted private 
medical evidence in support of a claim for compensation or 
pension under the laws administered by the Secretary was 
scheduled for an examination performed by Department per-
sonnel because the private medical evidence submitted was 
determined to be unacceptable. 
(2) The most common reasons why private medical evidence 
submitted in support of claims for benefits under the laws 
administered by the Secretary was determined to be unaccept-
able. 
(3) The types of disabilities for which claims for benefits 
under the laws administered by the Secretary were mostly 
commonly denied when private medical evidence was sub-
mitted. 
Approved March 9, 2018. 
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